Alumnus of Merit Award given for work in educational reform

	Richard Elmore, '66

Elmore is a professor of education at the Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, and a senior research fellow with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

He is coauthor of several books including Restructuring in the Classroom: Teaching, Learning and School Organization (1996) and coeditor of Who Chooses? Who Loses? Culture, Institutions, and the Unequal Effects of School Choice (1997). His recent research focuses on the effects of federal, state, and local education policy on schools and classrooms. He also is engaged in research on how changes in teaching and learning affect school organization.

Scientist who developed needleless vaccination method also named Alumnus of Merit

	Gregory Glenn, '77

Gregory Glenn, '77, lead researcher in the recent development of transcutaneous immunization, a "needleless" vaccination method, received a 1999 Alumnus of Merit Award. He was honored for his "ground-breaking research that resulted in an immeasurable contribution to the medical field."

Glenn, whose research was published in the February 1999 issue of the journal Nature, is vice president and scientific director of Iomai Corporation, a Washington, D.C., biotechnology firm. He conducted his original research as a fellow at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Transcutaneous immunization, in which vaccine is applied to the surface of the skin, is expected to transform medical practices around the world. A painless technique, it will encourage more families to seek immunizations, allow multiple inoculations, and prevent needle-born disease in Third World countries.

Battelle scientist wins Pete Reid Award

Stephen McDuffie, '87

Stephen McDuffie, '87, received this year's Pete Reid Award as a young alumnus who exemplifies commitment to his profession and community. After earning a Ph.D. in earth and planetary sciences at Johns Hopkins University, McDuffie worked for six years for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Rockville, Maryland. He conducted geologic studies related to the potential Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository, and later he was responsible for reviewing licenses for storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuel. In 1998 McDuffie was appointed operations manager at Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where he specializes in nuclear waste disposal.

He has written and coauthored a number of articles for scientific journals, and in 1996 he presented a paper on nuclear waste regulatory issues at the 30th International Geological Congress in Beijing, China.

Alumni Fund leader Penny Penrose Bignold honored with Scribner Award

Penny Penrose Bignold, '56

The Alumni Association is presenting a 1999 Gordon Scribner Award for Distinguished Service to Penny Penrose Bignold, '56. Bignold received the award for her "unequaled and infectious enthusiasm for Whitman College."

Bignold served as a class representative for more than 15 years, inspiring her class to high levels of participation in the Alumni Fund. As chair of the Alumni Fund for seven years, she led Whitman into the ranks of national colleges whose number of alumni donors exceeds 50 percent.

Bignold also has contributed to numerous Alumni Association projects, hosted Seattle-area alumni events, served as an admission volunteer, and chaired phonathons. In 1997 she was named to the board of overseers.

Posthumous award given to Dennis Ashlock

The late Dennis Ashlock, '61, also is being honored with a Scribner award. Ashlock, '61, an overseer of Whitman College from 1987 until his death in 1997, worked vigorously to build interest and enthusiasm for the College in Spokane. He served on the alumni steering committee and as regional vice chair for the overseers, organizing alumni events and recruiting many dedicated volunteers. He also founded an endowed scholarship for Spokane area students.

Two alumni receive new Sally Rodgers Award for "liberal arts approach to life"

	John Haigh, '40

John Haigh, '40, and Judy Seaton Mongan, '37, are recipients of the Sally Rodgers Award for Lifelong Achievement. Established this year, the award honors Rodgers, who served as director of alumni from 1985 until 1997.

Haigh has been nationally recognized as an outstanding journalist. His distinguished newspaper career included a post as an editor with the Seattle Times. He also worked for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, the Yakima Herald, and the Milwaukee Journal.

Judy Seaton Mongan, '37

Since retirement, Haigh has been involved with Elderhostel and other senior citizen programs and has volunteered for the Seattle Arboretum. He served as editor of Whitman's Fifty-Plus News for more than a decade.

An alumnus who "lives and breathes the curious, open liberal arts approach to life," Mongan served with the Red Cross in London during World War II. She returned home to enter the teaching profession, and, after 20 years, capped her career in education by volunteering with the Peace Corps to teach English in Liberia.

After retirement, Mongan also taught in Japan and Hungary, trekked on foot to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, journeyed across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and traveled by Land Rover across the Sahara Desert.