Crumpton was recognized with the James F. Zimmerman Award, while Brown received the Erna S. Fergusson Award. Others honored and recognized included Nelson Valdes ('70 BA, '78 PhD), who received the Bernard S. Rodey Award and Assistant Professor of Philosophy Mary Domski, who was honored with the Faculty Teaching Award.
Henry Crumpton, BA '78, James F. Zimmerman Award
The James F. Zimmerman Award is given to an alumnus of the University of New Mexico who has made a significant contribution which has brought fame and honor to the University of New Mexico and or to the State of New Mexico.
Crumpton, a former CIA operative who served as the State Department's leader in combating international terrorism from 2005 to 2007, led the campaign in Afghanistan and investigated the 1998 al-Quaeda bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and also the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.
Now president of the Crumpton Group, he is a member of the UNM Alumni Association Board of Directors.
John Brown, BBA '72, Erna S. Fergusson Award
The Erna S. Fergusson Award, formerly the Award of Distinction, recognizes exceptional accomplishments and/or commitment or distinguished service to the University of New Mexico. The recipient may or may not be an alum of the University.
Brown, recipient of the Erna S. Fergusson Award, was a co-founder and the managing director of the Philadelphia First Group, Inc. from 1983-1993. From 1993-2000, he held various positions as a managing director, partner and chief operating officer with Coopers and Lybrand. He has completed more than 150 merger, acquisition, financing and private equity transactions in a wide range of industries.
As COO, partner and managing director of Coopers & Lybrand, he coordinated the integration of its investment banking group with from Price Waterhouse. In 2003, he co-founded and became managing partner of Sandia Capital Partners, LLC, a corporate finance advisory and direct investment firm. Brown serves as adjunct professor and instructor at the UNM Anderson School of Management.
Nelson Valdes, BA '70, PhD '78, Bernard S. Rodey Award
The Bernard S. Rodey Award recognizes those whose leadership efforts have contributed significantly to the field of education. The recipient may or may not be an alum of the University.
Valdes, recipient of the Bernard S. Rodey Award for leadership in education, arrived in Albuquerque from Cuba in 1961 and began work as a janitor at UNM. He eventually earned his Ph.D. in sociology and history and became a professor at his alma mater.
He founded and directed the university's Latin America Data Base and was recently awarded the Ford Foundation Grant to begin work on the Cuba-L project that will serve as a clearinghouse for information on Cuba through news from around the world.
Mary Domski, Faculty Teaching Award
The UNM Alumni Association Faculty Teaching Award recognizes outstanding teaching and service to students. The recipient is a faculty member currently employed full-time in any school or college of the University.
On the faculty of the UNM Philosophy Department since 2005, Domski, who specializes in philosophy of science and the history of modern philosophy, will receive the Alumni Association's Faculty Teaching Award. She has also served as undergraduate advisor for philosophy for four years. Domski has been recognized with two teaching awards while at UNM including Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2007, and The College of Arts and Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence in 2009.
Domski teaches the following undergraduate courses: Introduction to Philosophy, Descartes to Kant, Philosophy of Science. She also teaches graduate seminars on Descartes, Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, and Seventeenth Century Math and Metaphysics. The philosophy department has increased its enrollment in its entry-level classes by 20 percent in the past four years.
For more information about the awards, call the UNM Alumni Relations Office at, 277-5808.
Media contact: Steve Carr (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu