JUNE/JULY 2006
» AHS Celebrates 2006 Commencement; 250+ graduates join alumni ranks
» AHS 2006 Outstanding Alumni Award recipient: Jeff Bzdelik (PE `76)
» BVIS Alumni SAVE THE DATE - Alumni Gathering at 2006 AMI meeting
» UIC Alumni Association: Cocktails with the King
» Make a Gift
» Show Your UIC Pride

AHS Celebrates 2006 Commencement!
On a beautiful spring evening on May 4, 2006, over 250 students, their families and friends packed the UIC Pavilion to participate in the commencement ceremony. Sarah Reinertsen, paralympian, triathlete and national spokesperson for the Challenged Athletes Foundation delivered the college’s commencement address. Reinertsen became the first female above-knee amputee to finish an Ironman Triathlon in 2005. In her address, Reinertsen encouraged graduates to “never give up.” Reinertsen’s role with Challenged Athletes is to inspire and provide guidance to others with physical challenges and instill in them that when you believe, you can do anything.

AHS Alumni Board Chair Art Slowinski (MVSC '94) welcomed the new graduates into the alumni family. The alumni board presented each graduate with an engraved metal bookmark as a reminder to continue their pursuit of lifelong learning.

A reception for students, family, friends, faculty and staff followed the festivities.
Congratulations graduates!

AHS 2006 Outstanding Alumni Award recipient: Jeff Bzdelik (PE '76)
Jeff Bzdelik (PE '76), head coach of the United States Air Force Academy men’s basketball team received the college’s 2006 Outstanding Alumni Award during the 2006 AHS Commencement ceremony. As a UIC student athlete, he received four varsity letters in basketball and was named team MVP as a senior. He still holds the school record for best free-throw percentage shooting 88 percent from the line.

Bzdelik began his coaching career in 1978 at Davidson (NC) College. In 1980 he was named assistant coach at Northwestern University where he was instrumental in the Wildcats’ first NIT appearance in school history. Taking a position at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County for two years, during the 1986-87 his squad was cited by The Sporting News as “One of College’s Biggest Turnarounds”, in the school’s inaugural season in Division I. His teams excelled in the classrooms as well. Soon after, Bzdelik moved to the NBA as an assistant coach with the former Washington Bullets. Gaining attention for his talents, he was recruited as the lead scout for the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks.The 1998 Pro Basketball issue of Sports Illustrated, voted Bzdelik the NBA’s best advance scout. In 2000 he was recognized by USA Today as one of the NBA’s top five assistant coaches.

Most recently Bzdelik served as the head coach of the Denver Nuggets for two and a half seasons after spending one year as a scout for the team. As coach, he engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history when in 2003-04 he led the Nuggets to the playoffs for the first time since 1994-95. In his first season as a NBA head coach, Bzdelik was widely praised for the Nuggets’ competitiveness, work ethic and never give-up attitude.

In 2005, Bzdelik was named head coach of the United States Air Force Academy men’s basketball team. With a strong commitment to academics, Coach Bzdelik led his team to the 2005-06 NCAA Tournament squaring off against the University of Illinois Illini. Although the team did not advance in the tournament, Bzdelik looks forward to the 2006-07 season and remains dedicated to advancing the USAF’s mission of shaping tomorrow's leaders through competition today.

BVIS Alumni: SAVE THE DATE
August 4 Alumni & Friends Event, 2006 AMI meeting
Calling all BVIS alumni!  If you’re planning on heading to Beantown (Boston) for the Association of Medical Illustrators annual national meeting, ink in August 4 on your calendar for a gathering of the BVIS clan. More details will be published on the BVIS alumni listserv hosted by Scott Barrows. Not sure you’re getting the BVIS listserv messages?  Please email ahsalum@uic.edu to be added to the list (psst...job postings often appear on this list – so why not add yourself to this program specific resource!)

UIC Alumni Association: Cocktails with the King! 
An Evening with King Tut – August 31, 2006
The UIC Department of Anthropology, The Field Museum and the University of Illinois Alumni Association extend an exclusive invitation to alumni and their guests to “An Evening With King Tut.” Activities include an exclusive introduction by James Phillips, exhibit curator and UIC professor. UIC faculty, Field Museum curators and graduate fellows will lead tours of the exhibit. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres served. Complimentary parking.
Tickets are limited, so register early.

August 31
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The Field Museum, East Atrium
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
$70 UIAA members
$85 Nonmembers

For more information, contact UIAA Associate Director KJ Hardy at KJHardy@uic.edu or 312-996-6330.

Make a Gift – Support the AHS Annual Fund
The AHS Annual Fund provides the college with current use funds that our dean and department heads use for immediate program enhancement.  Annual fund gifts of any size from $25 to $5,000 have been used to provide student travel awards to professional conferences, upgrade instructional technology in our classrooms, improve student learning and living spaces, and have been designated to a specific scholarship or award.

To make a gift to the AHS Annual Fund, please contact the college’s advancement staff at (312) 996-6695, or visit the AHS website at www.ahs.uic.edu. Click on “Make A Gift.”

Thank you for your generosity!

SHOW YOUR UIC PRIDE
Need a new hat, shirt or bag for yourself or a gift? Great ideas can be found at www.campuscasuals.com/uicalumni.