Date:
9/22/2005
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
ENMU Announces 2005 Alumni Awards
PORTALES—Five individuals will receive Eastern New Mexico UniversityAlumni Awards at the 2005 Friends of Eastern Annual Homecomingbreakfast, Saturday, Oct. 1, in the Campus Union Ballroom.
HansonScott of Albuquerque will receive the Honorary Lifetime AlumniAward. Recipients of the Outstanding Alumni Awards will be Larry Haysof Lubbock, Texas, and Dr. Socorro Herrera of Manhattan,Kan. Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to Gari Fails ofAlbuquerque and New Mexico Senator Carroll Leavell.
RetiredBrigadier General Hanson Scott received his bachelor degree from theUnited States Air Force Academy, his master of business administrationfrom Auburn University, and graduate studies in management andeconomics at St. Louis University. He graduated from the IndustrialCollege of the Armed Forces and was a distinguished graduate of theUSAF Air Command and Staff College. He also completed the seniorexecutive course in National Security Management at Harvard University.
Sincethat time he has served in various capacities for the United States AirForce, ranging from the Director of Operations' Vice Commander atLittle Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas to the Commander of SpecialOperations in the Pacific stationed at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii. In1992, he served as the marketing director for Quatro Corporation inAlbuquerque.
Scott was appointed as theExecutive Director in the New Mexico Office for Space Commercializationfrom 1998–2002. Scott drafted, advocated and secured several pieces oflegislation that have been critical to establishing New Mexico's rolein the commercialization of space.
In 2003,he was appointed and is currently serving as director of the New MexicoOffice of Military Base Planning. While in this position he has beeninvolved in a number of initiatives ranging from establishing a programof support for New Mexico's four military installations to ensuringcontinued support. He organized support of the Clovis/Portales responseto the proposed closure of Cannon Air Force Base by the U.S. Departmentof Defense and has played a key role in the Keep Cannon Campaign.
LarryHays, a Dora native, graduated from Eastern New Mexico University in1966 with his bachelor of science in religion and in 1969 completed hismaster of arts in history. After graduating, he began his coachingcareer at Lubbock Christian College where he was the head baseballcoach from 1971–86. During this period he served as athletic directorfor the college from 1979–86.
In 1987, heaccepted the head baseball coaching position at Texas Tech Universityin Lubbock, Texas. There he has coached winning seasons for 17 of the18 years, including three conference championships. Hays is a highlyrespected coach by his peers. He has been honored as "Coach of theYear" nine times, including the season he was selected as the Big 12Conference Coach of the Year, plus being inducted into the NAIA Hall ofFame. He has had 71 of his former players drafted by Major LeagueBaseball teams and five of those have played at the highest level.Coach Hays is and has been an outstanding ambassador of ENMU andeastern New Mexico.
Dr. Socorro Herreragraduated from Eastern New Mexico University with her bachelor ofscience in elementary education and her master of education. Shereceived her doctorate at Texas Tech University in 1995. While atEastern, she was the first recipient of the AHORA organizationscholarship award for Hispanic students.
Dr.Herrera has taught in numerous classrooms from the Portales IndependentSchool District to Texas Tech University. She was the director of theSubstance Abuse Prevention Training Program at Texas Tech and wasinvited to lecture at The University of Utah on ESL methods, strategiesand assessment.
In1995, she began as an assistant professor in the Education Departmentat Kansas State University. Dr. Herrera is currently an associateprofessor in the Department of Education and the director of the CIMACenter at Kansas State University. Dr. Herrera coordinates theBilingual/Multicultural Education department, has secured millions ofdollars in grant money for the university, and has developed an ESLoff-campus program for practicing teachers, which is now being used byENMU and other universities throughout the country. She is a textbookauthor, and a role model to other young Latinas.
GariFails graduated from Eastern New Mexico University where she receivedher bachelor of science in journalism and a master of arts incommunication. She also holds a master of business administration fromthe University of Phoenix.
Fails'professional background includes serving as the president of theAssociation of Commerce and Industry of New Mexico and New MexicoInterchange Network, Inc., executive vice president for a bankingconsortium association, vice president of administration for aconstruction firm, marketing manager for an airline, and Teacher/CareerEducation coordinator with Albuquerque Public Schools.
Shehas served on the Board of Directors of the American Society ofAssociation Executives, CPA/Society Executive Association, SSNI and NewMexico Society of Association Executives. Fails served from 1990–2001on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, 1991–1995 on the ENMUBoard of Regents, and from 1995–2003 on the Eastern Foundation Board ofDirectors. She also served as a board member on the New MexicoEducational Assistance Foundation and Greater Albuquerque Kiwanis Club.
In2001 she received the Banff Center - ASAE Award for Excellence inAssociation Leadership from the American Society of AssociationExecutives. She is currently the president and CEO of the New MexicoSociety of Certified Public Accountants and will become President ofCPA/SEA in October.
New Mexico SenatorCarroll Leavell received his bachelor of arts in business and economicsfrom Eastern New Mexico University in 1958. The Senator served in theNew Mexico National Guard and the Texas National Guard.
Hewas the president and general manager of Leavell Insurance and RealEstate, Inc. and Leavell Insurance, Inc. from 1964 to 2002. He servedas the president of Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico in1993–94 and the Jal Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Societyof Certified Insurance Counselors, Board of Directors of New MexicoJunior College Foundation, and the Jal Hospital District Board ofDirectors.
SenatorLeavell was elected to his position in 1997 and serves on the SenateFinance Committee as well as the Blue Ribbon Tax Study Commission,Legislative Finance Committee, Radioactive and Hazardous MaterialsOversight Committee, Corrections Oversight Committee, and theLegislative Council Committee.
As a nativeof Clovis, and a graduate and supporter of Eastern, Senator Leavell hasa record of service to the University. He has been instrumental insupporting legislative financing to assist Eastern with the distancelearning program and to equip the University's Communications Centerstudio.
For more information, call the ENMU Alumni Affairs office at 505.562.2125.
