A broadcaster, a leader in higher education and a health care executive have been selected by the Western Michigan University Alumni Association to receive its most prestigious honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award for 2011.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is given out each year by the Western Michigan University Alumni Association to those who have achieved a high level of success in their professions.
The 2011 recipients of the award are:
• Morris C. Davenport of Avon, Conn., senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Radio;
• Keith A. Pretty of Midland, Mich., president and CEO of Northwood University;
• Dr. Anthony R. Tersigni of St. Louis, president and CEO of Ascension Health.
Davenport, who earned a Bachelor of Arts from WMU in 1979, is responsible for all aspects of ESPN Radio content, as well as distribution, advertising sales and marketing initiatives for ESPN Radio's 700 affiliated stations and five owned stations. A communication major at WMU, Davenport played on the Bronco football team from 1975 to 1979. He was appointed to his current position in August 2007 and now is responsible for all aspects of ESPN Radio content. Davenport has received two Emmys. His first--also ESPN's first Emmy--recognized his work on animation.
Pretty, who earned a Bachelor of Science from WMU in 1973, leads Northwood University, a private, nonprofit, accredited institution that specializes in managerial and entrepreneurial education. Northwood University has full-service, residential campuses in Midland., West Palm Beach, Fla., and Cedar Hill, Texas. A former captain of the Bronco football team, Pretty was drafted by the Green Bay Packers during his senior year. After a short tenure with that team, he began teaching at Portage Northern High School. He returned to WMU as vice president for legislative relations and general counsel and later was named vice president for external affairs and general counsel as well as CEO of the WMU Foundation.
Tersigni, who earned a Doctor of Education from WMU in 1992, leads Ascension Health, the nation's largest Catholic and nonprofit health care system, with more than 113,000 associates serving in some 500 locations throughout the United States.
He was named COO of the St. Louis-based company in 2000 and assumed his current position four years later. Tersigni has been named one of Modern Healthcare's 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare since 2006 and serves in leadership positions on several boards, including as chair of the Healthcare Leadership Council in Washington, DC.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Jeanne Baron, WMU
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