AWC Alumni Invited for Celebration Breakfast
October 25, 2018Longtime faculty members Dr. Kathryn A. Watson & Dr. George Montopoli honored as 2018 Hall of Fame Inductees
Yuma, AZ (October 25, 2018) – Arizona Western College is inviting alumni and community partners to the annual AWC Alumni Breakfast and Hall of Fame Celebration on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 8 - 9 a.m. in the Schoening Conference Center, 2020 S. Ave. 8E. AWC’s 2018 Hall of Fame Inductees Dr. Kathryn A. Watson and Dr. George Montopoli will be honored at the breakfast.
Doors will open at 7:45 a.m. and the event will begin with a performance of the alma mater by AWC choral students.
“It is an honor to recognize the 2018 Inductees for their outstanding service to our community. Their dedication and vision for their fields of study have enhanced the educational experience of our students,” said Renee Smith, AWC Director of Institutional Advancement.
For more information about the event, or to RSVP for the breakfast, contact the AWC Foundation Office at foundation@azwestern.edu or at (928) 344-1720.
2018 Hall of Fame Inductee Dr. Kathryn A. Watson
Dr. Kathryn Watson’s contributions are visible throughout the AWC campus and the larger Yuma community. During her 33 years as professor of Family Studies, she taught a wide variety of classes from Child Development to Family Relations. The state-of-the-art Child Development Learning Lab on the Yuma campus is named in her honor for her many professional contributions to this field of study.
Dr. Watson has deep and broad ties to the Yuma region. She is a product of the community college/university partnership, having started with her AA in Home Economics at AWC and finishing as the first Yuma doctoral student to graduate from NAU-Yuma and be hooded at the AWC-NAU commencement ceremony. She is widely published in her field, including a 29-year position as Family Focus columnist with the Yuma Sun newspaper. She was named Yuma County Teacher of the Year in 1994 and earned the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce’s distinguished Athena Award for women in leadership in 2003. Dr. Watson’s commitment to professional growth for both herself and her colleagues is demonstrated by a history of conference participation and presentations. Community organizations that have benefited from her leadership include First Things First, YRMC, Zonta International and the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
2018 Hall of Fame Inductee Dr. George Montopoli
AWC Professor Emeritus Dr. George Montopoli has spent his career working to make the world around him better. Montopoli spent 19 years on the faculty of AWC, and 13 years as adjunct professor with NAU-Yuma. He taught a wide range of subjects to thousands of students, including statistics, calculus, ecology and environmental science. Besides his teaching load, he also drew on his statistical expertise and independently evaluated 36 grants in 30 years. His work in a wide variety of fields has been widely published over the past 20 years.
Beyond higher education, Dr. Montopoli has championed protected lands, wildlife preservation, and health and human service education in the US and abroad. Montopoli has served as a climbing/rescue ranger since 1977 in the Grand Teton Park, averaging 40 rescues per summer, where he developed and led Emergency Response training with a Wilderness First Aid focus. During four years with the Peace Corps in Chile and Ecuador he trained locals in Advanced First Aid, provided medical care, and assisted in 80 childbirths. As leading researcher on bald eagles in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for the better part of 30 years, his team has greatly contributed to the species’ recovery, including the banning of lead when hunting or fishing in Grand Teton National Park. Montopoli is also a Master Falconer, and a principal avian rehabilitator of birds of prey in the Southwest region of Arizona.
Contact:
Gladys Anaya
Coordinator of Development and Alumni Relations
Arizona Western College
gladys.anaya@azwestern.edu
(928) 317-7620