Hall of Fame
We at The W. A. Franke College of Business greatly value our alumni, friends, and retired faculty who have supported our efforts over the years. In 2003, our National Advisory Board decided to formalize our appreciation by creating the Hall of Fame to recognize the achievement of our outstanding alumni, faculty and friends.
We are very proud of our inductees and invite you to learn about each of them, and to enjoy our photos and videos from previous events. Each year we host a recognition dinner the Friday of Homecoming Weekend. On an annual basis, current Hall of Fame members join faculty and staff to welcome and honor new inductees.
We encourage you to learn more about our inductees, and to review the criteria for induction into the Hall of Fame.
2020 Hall of Fame Inductees
Dave Damron (’94 ACC), Tax Partner at Ernst & Young, Anne Niemiec (’92 HRM), Sales Enablement Executive, Bobby Stuckey (’92 history), partner Frasca Food and Wine, Pizzeria Locale and Scarpetta Wines, and David Williams (’61 & ’64, education), retired, former dean for NAU’s College of Education and former dean of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, 1992-1997.
The W. A. Franke College of Business Hall of Fame awards ceremony was held virtually on Friday, November 6th, 2020.
2019 Hall of Fame Inductees Accordion Closed
Todd Davis (’85 HRM), founder and CEO SkyTouch Technology, Ronald Gunderson, Professor Emeritus, economics, and Sandy Owen (’86 MGT), Director of Business Services, International Legal and Operations at Intel Corporation.
The W. A. Franke College of Business Hall of Fame awards dinner was held on October 25, 2019 in the du Bois Ballroom.
2018 Hall of Fame Inductees Accordion Closed
W. A. Franke, Managing Partner, Indigo Partners, William Miller, Professor Emeritus, HRM, Chris Stradling (ACC ’99), Co-Head of Lincoln International’s Consumer Group and Nava Thuraisingam (HRM ’00), Owner and CEO, Kind Hospitality Inc.
The W. A. Franke College of Business Hall of Fame awards dinner was held on October 25, 2018 in the du Bois Ballroom.
2017 Hall of Fame Inductees Accordion Closed
Matt Casado Ed.D. (EDU ’91), Professor Emeritus, HRM, Paige Lund (HRM ’93), General Manager Renaissance Hotel & Area General Manager for the Marriott collection Phoenix, John Ferron (FIN ’86), Executive Chairman of Ivanti Software and Jim Travis (MKT/BUS ADMIN ’70), retired.
The 15th annual The W. A. Franke College of Business Hall of Fame awards dinner was held on October 26, 2017 at the High Country Inn and Conference Center in downtown Flagstaff.
2016 Hall of Fame Inductees Accordion Closed
Bill Nyman (MKT ’70), Timothy M. Rastello (ACC ’75), Fred W. Smith II (MKT ’83) and Kathy Finnerty Thomas (MKT/MGT ’78), Kay Pitt (NAU faculty from 1981-2011), Ron Pitt (NAU faculty from 1981 – 2011).
The 14th annual The W. A. Franke College of Business Hall of Fame awards dinner was held on October 13, 2016 at the High Country Inn and Conference Center in downtown Flagstaff. Below is the video from the event.
2015 Hall of Fame Inductees Accordion Closed
Samia Ashraf (’84 CIS/MGT), retired, SeaLand; Robert Jordan (’90 BUS ADM/FIN), CEO of Tribeca Capital Partners LLC; Dr. Ken Lorek, professor of Accounting at FCB 1996-2015; Mark Minter (’75 MGT), Executive Director of Arizona Builders’ Alliance; and Glenn Tubb (’75 ACC), Senior Vice President of Products at Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc.
October 22, 2015 our recognition dinner was held at the Doubletree.
2014 Hall of Fame Inductees Accordion Closed
Bill Heibel (’70 MKT, ’73 MBA), consultant to General Dynamics Information Technology Company; Kristy O’Bannon (’97 ACC), co-owner of O’Bannon Anaya & Company Ltd; Thomas B. Perkins (’80 HRM), president and CEO of Core-Mark Holding Company; Joe Walka (dean of the college 1987-1996), and Robert Williams (professor in MKT 1978-2010).
October 23, 2014 our recognition dinner was held at the Coconino Center for the Arts.