Fulbright College Names Distinguished Alumni For 2002-2003

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Interim Dean Donald Bobbitt has selected seven graduates of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas as distinguished alumni for 2002-2003, in recognition of outstanding achievements in fields ranging from advertising to acting, patent law, endoscopic surgery, and journalism.

"These alumni reflect the myriad contributions our graduates make to their communities through their research, leadership and service. Their accomplishments serve to inspire our current students, who look to such role models as they prepare to embark on their careers," said Dean Bobbitt.

This year’s distinguished alumni are Grady Core, Paul Gaylo, Jim Johnson, Laurence Luckinbill, Robert McCord, Jane Saunders, and Archie Schaffer.

Grady Core is a pioneer in the field of endoscopic plastic surgery. Since co-developing the technique in 1991, he has developed additional applications for the face, breast, and abdomen. Since 1992, he has taught his techniques to surgeons throughout the world. He earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology with honors from the U of A in 1977, and after earning his medical degree from UAMS in 1981, he went on to train in plastic surgery at the renowned Mayo Clinic. He then moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he was awarded a research fellowship while also serving as a clinical instructor at the University of Alabama. Today he is a practicing surgeon with the Grotting and Core Plastic Surgery Clinic in Birmingham. During his time at the U of A, he was a drum major for the Razorback band. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of both the American Society of Aesthetic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The author of numerous articles on plastic surgery, he has been a guest lecturer and presenter at meetings around the world, from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Medical Center in Australia to the NYU Medical Center in New York and the New South Wales Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He has also written several articles and book chapters on plastic surgery. He has been included in numerous publications of Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare as well as Outstanding Young Men of America.

After earning his degree in microbiology from the U of A in 1983, Paul Gaylo went on to earn a master’s at Duke and a law degree from Washington University. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, he is licensed to practice law in Indiana as well as for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Since 1991, Gaylo has worked for the pharmaceutical company of Eli Lilly, currently serving as its General Patent Counsel and overseeing the department that protects intellectual property for neuroscience products. In addition, Gaylo has done patent work involving biotechnological and organic chemicals, including procuring intellectual properties, licensing, counseling, and litigation.

Jim Johnson found work as an artist with the Hockersmith Advertising Agency in Little Rock after he earned his bachelor of art degree in 1957. He served as Senior Vice President of Creative Services for Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, an advertising agency in Little Rock he helped to establish in 1961, until he retired in 2003. Elected to the Arkansas Runners Hall of Fame in 1992, he has run 15 marathons, eight triathlons, and climbed Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America. He is a guitarist with The Rockets, a Little Rock band named best band in Arkansas six years in a row. Founder of the Marquis de Sade Running Club, Johnson is the recipient of numerous awards, beginning with the Milton Bradley National Crayon Art Award in fifth grade and extending to the Silver Medal in 1994 from the Arkansas Advertising Federation for career contributions. In addition to garnering creative awards from the American Advertising Federation and the American Institute of Outdoor Advertising, Johnson also designed the Clinton Presidential Inaugural program, the state logo for Arkansas, and the original logo for the Arkansas Arts Center. Over the years, he has contributed his talents to many worthwhile causes, such as the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the Arkansas Cancer Society, United Way, Arkansas Opera Theater, The Razorback Club, and the Ouachita Girl Scouts Council.

Laurence Luckinbill currently tours in solo performances portraying Lyndon Johnson, Clarence Darrow, and Theodore Roosevelt. After graduating from the drama department in 1955, he earned his MFA in playwriting from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. A versatile actor, Luckinbill has won praise for his work on television, stage, and screen. He won the New York Critics Circle Award for his performance in The Memory Bank and was nominated for a Tony for his work in The Shadow Box. His films include starring roles in Such Good Friends, Cocktail, and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. On television, he starred in his own ABC series, The Delphi Bureau. As a writer, Luckinbill has contributed to The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, and American Theatre Magazine. In 1993, he wrote and co-produced with his wife, Lucy Arnaz, Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie, a two-hour television special that won an Emmy Award. During the Kennedy administration, he served in the U.S. Foreign Service for two years, in Africa and Italy, as director, actor, and lecturer on American Theatre and Culture.

While at the U of A, Robert McCord began his career in journalism by working on the Arkansas Traveler for four years, becoming its editor in 1950-51. While many men were away fighting during World War II, McCord was able at age 15 to get a job as a photographer at the Arkansas Democrat. After receiving a master’s in journalism from Columbia in 1954, he rejoined the paper as a reporter and later as editor of its Sunday Magazine. As a Southern correspondent for Business Week, he covered the desegregation crisis in Little Rock for the Christian Science Monitor. In 1958, he bought the North Little Rock Times, a weekly newspaper, which he operated until 1968, when he became editor of the editorial page of the Democrat and a member of the paper’s board of directors. After leaving the Democrat in 1978, he produced and narrated "McCord’s Arkansas" for three years on AETN as well as produced five programs for the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour. In 1981, he was hired by the Arkansas Gazette to develop the newspaper’s first opinion page. He is the recipient of the President’s Award and Distinguished Service Award from the Arkansas Press Association and has served as president of the national Society of Journalists. He also served on the board of the First Commercial Bank of Little Rock for 23 years.

Jane Saunders, who graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1987, is a certified investment management analyst with Stephens, Inc. in Little Rock. She manages a $150 million portfolio and specializes in financial, retirement, and estate planning, asset allocation, and professional investment management services. In 1998, she continued her studies at the Wharton School of Business, completing the Morgan Stanley Advanced Financial Advisors Program. From 1979 to 2002, she worked for Dean Witter, which became Morgan Stanley, as senior vice president and a member of the Chairman’s Club. She worked three years convincing the legislature, the Governor, and the public of the need to fund higher education in Arkansas. The result was the College Savings Bond Program, a $100,000,000 bond issue allowing colleges to build needed academic buildings and encouraging parents to buy bonds for their children’s college education. In 1998 and 1999, she was named one of the Top 100 Women in Arkansas by Arkansas Business. She is chair of the Board of Trustees of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and a member of the St. Vincent Hospital Association, the Arkansas Arts Center, and the Arkansas Women’s Leadership Forum.

Archie Schaffer became Senior Vice President for External Relations for Tyson Foods, Inc., in 1999, after serving the company since 1991 as Director of Media, Public and Governmental Affairs. He served under Governor Dale Bumpers as an administrative assistant from 1971 to 1975, continuing to work with the newly elected Senator Bumpers until 1977. He then switched from politics to healthcare, becoming the administrator of the family-owned Greenhurst Nursing Home in Charleston, Arkansas. Eight years later he opened his own firm, Schaffer & Associates, in Little Rock. For two years, he focused on public relations and government consulting. He took on a new challenge in 1987 as Executive Director of the Arkansas Business Council, a position he held until joining Tyson Foods in 1991.

Schaffer earned a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences from the University of Arkansas in 1970. A native of Fort Smith and a graduate of Charleston High School, he is a longtime supporter of the Arkansas Nature Conservancy, which he serves as a member of the board. In addition, he is a member of the Arkansas Leadership Academy, the University of Arkansas’ Agricultural Development Council, and the Arkansas League of Women Voters Advisory Board.

These alumni will return to campus April 18, to visit their departments, meet with students and faculty, and attend a special dinner the College will host in their honor. All members of the Fulbright College Distinguished Alumni Academy from 1998 through 2003 can be found on the College web site at http://www.uark.edu/~arsc/alumni/.