2014 Hall of Fame
NAU’s Social and Behavioral Sciences alumni and their stories
The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University is proud to share stories of our graduates who have gone on to make a difference in the world.
Tracye Hutchins
1992 BS Broadcasting
Tracye Hutchins co-anchors CBS46 News at 4, 5, 6 and 11 p.m. Tracye joined CBS46 in the spring of 2007 to co-host the morning show. She worked for 6 and a half years on the show covering breaking news, events in the community and interviewing celebrities until she transitioned to evenings in the fall of 2013.
Prior to arriving in Atlanta, Tracye worked for the CBS affiliate KFMB in San Diego, California. But that was only after spending 4 years in Atlanta working at CNN Headline News covering world news events, daily health stories, and entertainment features. Tracye was live on the air during major breaking news stories including the break-up of the Columbia space shuttle over Texas and the capture of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Tracye has spent the last 20 years covering the news across the country from hurricanes in Fort Myers, FL to 120-degree heat waves in Phoenix, AZ and factory closings in Terre Haute, IN to soybean crops in Kirksville, MO where she started her television news career in 1993.
Les Kodlick
1984 BS Communication
Les Kodlick is a corporate communication consultant, motivational speaker, and guest lecturer. Prior to his current position, he served as the Director of Public Affairs for the United States Air Force, the world’s largest aerospace organization. Working in the Pentagon, he advised the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force on public affairs matters. He was responsible for developing and executing the Air Force’s global, strategic communication enterprise to build understanding and support for the Air Force. General Kodlick led a headquarters staff of 120 and was responsible for the entire public affairs career field providing guidance and support for 5,500 active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen and civilians. Their mission is to broadcast internal Air Force information, conduct community and media relations, manage integrated marketing, and execute the service’s security review programs to protect classified and sensitive information.
General Kodlick received his commission in 1984 through the Air Force ROTC program at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He served in wing, numbered air force, major command, Air Staff and joint staff positions, and was a commander three times, including a combat tour at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan where he earned the Bronze Star Medal. Among his many assignments, he worked in New York City as an account executive for Hill & Knowlton, Inc., an international public relations firm, as part of the Air Force’s Education with Industry program. General Kodlick also served as a National Defense Fellow and an Associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal and Legion of Merit among others. He is also a two-time recipient of the Public Relations Society of America’s prestigious Silver Anvil Award including PRSA’s “Best of” Award for Excellence in Issues Management.
Lisa Olson
1985 BS Journalism
Lisa Olson is an American sportswriter. Her work has been featured in the anthology, “The Best American Sports Writing”. For a decade she was a sports columnist for the New York Daily News, where she enjoyed a front-row view of the Yankees’ glory years, a pair of Super Bowl runs by the New York Giants, the Jets’ constant drama, several Olympics and the colorful daily stories only New York can offer.
She also was a national columnist for AOL’s FanHouse sports website, and a columnist and the first woman in Sporting News’ 120-year history to write the magazine’s monthly back page. Before that, she worked as a journalist in Australia for six years. She was the first-ever female sports columnist for both the Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph, writing about rugby union, Australian rules football, cricket, rugby league, Olympic Games and all sorts of sports stories throughout Asia and the South Pacific.
Olson is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and is a Hall of Fame voter. She has reported on and written about sports stories from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Japan, China, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Europe and pretty much all of North America. She lives in Manhattan but would like to call Flagstaff her second home.
Rebecca Shannonhouse
1982 BS Journalism
Rebecca Shannonhouse graduated magna cum laude in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
She began her journalism career at The Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, where she worked as a reporter for the state desk, writing breaking news stories and a three-part investigative series on the state’s foster-care system.
Rebecca then moved to New York City to pursue a master of fine arts degree in non-fiction writing at Columbia University. After completing her graduate work, she was hired as assistant features editor at The New York Times Syndicate. Rebecca later moved to United Feature Syndicate. As managing editor there, she edited a number of nationally syndicated columnists, including Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, civil libertarian Nat Hentoff, political commentators Cokie and Steve Roberts, and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Jack Anderson. Rebecca is currently the editor in chief at the consumer-health newsletter Bottom Line/Health.
Throughout her career, Rebecca also has worked as a freelance journalist. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Observer, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today/International Edition and The Boston Globe. She also has taught on an adjunct basis at the New School for Social Research and Baruch College/City University of New York.
In addition, Rebecca conceived and edited two anthologies, Out of Her Mind: Women Writing on Madness and Under the Influence: The Literature of Addiction (both published by Random House’s Modern Library imprint). The books have been selected as required reading for related classes at some universities.