Alumni Association honors 8 at State House ceremony

he Alumni Association honored the achievements of five graduates and bestowed three honorary alumni awards during ceremonies in the Great Hall of the State House on April 9. President William M. Bulger, Chancellor John V. Lombardi and Alumni Association president Jess Kane, '70, officiated at the event, which was followed by a luncheon.

     The Alumni Association bestows the Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of extraordinary professional achievement. This year's honorees included William Bluestein, who was recognized posthumously, and Corinne Johnson, Glenn Mangurian and Michelle B. Wynn.

     Professor Richard H. Simpson of the Isenberg School of Management received the Distinguished Faculty Member Award. John and Elizabeth Armstrong, founders of the College of Engineering's Armstrong Professional Development Professorship, and Elaine Sortino, coach of the UMass softball team, were given Honorary Alumni Awards.

     Bluestein, '78, '81G, '89 Ph.D., was the president and chief operating officer of Forrester Research Inc., where he was responsible for domestic and international operations, including its research, sales and marketing, and business development functions. Prior to joining Forrester in 1990, Bluestein was senior editor at Cahners Publishing and was a market research analyst at Honeywell. He was a volunteer member of the UMass Amherst Information Technology Committee and in the spring of 2001, Bluestein established the Bluestein Scholarship to support undergraduates in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Bluestein passed away suddenly in September 2001. Since his death, his family and friends have continued his support and involvement with UMass Amherst. His award was accepted by his widow, Monica Young, and his daughter, Julia Bluestein.

     Johnson, who graduated in 1980, is general manager and area executive for General Electric's Aircraft Engines in Lynn. She has been at GE since 1990, when she started as environmental health and safety manager and later assumed responsibilities for the utilities and facilities engineering organizations. In 1995, she was named plant manager of the Hooksett Manufacturing Plant in Hooksett, N.H., and in 2000 was appointed master black belt overseeing all productivity initiatives for aircraft engines. At the same time, she assumed leadership responsibility for the unigraphics technology team. Prior to joining GE, Johnson was a consultant in the environmental health and safety practice at Arthur D. Little and held a variety of positions at Avco Corporation.

     Mangurian, '70, '73G, is the co-founder of FrontierWorks LLC, a regional management consulting firm. As part of his focus on local businesses, he started the UMass Amherst Executive Alumni Breakfast Series, which has grown to more than 500 members from the Boston area. Mangurian also served as a senior vice president at CSC Index, the firm that invented the concept of "business reengineering." He has consulted with senior executives of major international corporations and has been published in the Sloan Management Review, the Boston Business Journal and Mass High Tech. Mangurian has spoken to executive audiences in Europe and North America. He serves on the Business Advisory Council of the Isenberg School of Management.

     Wynn '93, '97, is the founder and executive director of Project Prentiss, a nationally recognized tattoo removal program serving the Greater Boston area. Project Prentiss provides tattoo removal as well as counseling in exchange for community service. She received a National e-chievement Award in 2002 for the development of Project Prentiss and was a 2002 National Geographic contributor for the documentary "Skin." Wynn is also an educator, currently teaching chemistry and English at Darien High School in Connecticut.

     Richard H. Simpson, '58, has been a member of the Accounting and Information Systems Department since 1967. Over his career, Simpson has taught financial accounting to more than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students. His teaching has been recognized with the Beta Alpha Psi Most Inspirational Teacher Award, the College Teacher of the Year Award, and the Distinguished Teaching Award. Simpson was also nominated by the University for the CASE National Professor of the Year.

     Involved with UMass since 1995, John and Elizabeth Armstrong founded the College of Engineering's Armstrong Professional Development Professorship. A retired vice president of IBM, John Armstrong serves on the College of Engineering Dean's Advisory Committee, the UMass Amherst Foundation, and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Committee. He has served as a presidential appointee on the National Science Board and currently serves as chair of the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics. Elizabeth Armstrong is active with the Five College Learning in Retirement and the Dickinson Homestead.

     Sortino has served as head coach of the softball team for more than 23 years. She has established herself as one of the nation's most successful collegiate softball coaches, posting a career record of 808-351-3. Sortino has led the Minutewomen to 15 Atlantic 10 Conference titles, 12 NCAA regional appearances and three trips to the NCAA College World Series. She is a seven-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and also received four Northeast Region Coach of the Year awards.

     Sortino also serves as associate athletic director for Programs and Student Services and as the senior women's administrator for Athletics.