Eight former students of California State University, Fresno will be brought home this weekend to be honored with the 1998 Alumni Award of Excellence.

The Fresno State Alumni Association announced that the eight individuals will be honored at an awards banquet on Friday, Sept. 25, and at the Bulldogs’ Homecoming football game against University of Nevada, Reno on Saturday, Sept. 26, “for individual achievements that have brought honor to themselves and the university.”

The Alumni Award of Excellence recipients are Dr. Peter G. Mehas, Larry Layne, Dr. Jan (Yocum)

Duke, Nancy Osborne, James R. Provost, Patrick V. Vail, Maxwell A. Shuster, Jr., and R. Elaine Mason.

Jacqui Glasener, interim Alumni director, said the award’s primary purpose is to acknowledge the achievements of the recipients and “inspire others to careers of dedication and achievement.”

But she said the honored alumni, representing each of the university’s eight academic schools, also serve as ambassadors for the university.

“Personally, and through the notice given to their awards, these alumni contribute strongly to the university’s success in recruiting excellent students,” Glasener said.

“Through Homecoming, the honorees return to campus to visit classrooms and laboratories, meet with students and faculty, serve as guest lecturers and re-establish ties with their major departments,” she said.

The recipients will be honored during the third quarter of the Homecoming game with a presentation and their names will be displayed on the game scoreboard.

Earlier in the day, the Alumni Association will break ground for the new Smittcamp Alumni House. The public is invited to the 2 p.m. event in Parking Lot “V” on the east side of the campus near Shaw and Woodrow Avenues.

The Alumni Association is also hosting a tailgate for all Fresno State alumni and their family and friends at 4 p.m. until gametime at 7 p.m. For tailgate ticket information, call (209) 278-2586.

ALUMNI AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 1998

— BIOGRAPHIES —

California State University • Fresno

Alumni Association

Dr. Jan (Yocum) Duke, the School of Education and Human Development recipient, is a teacher with Madera Unified School District and a consultant for the Bureau of Education and Research. She was awarded the nationally prestigious Miliken Educator Award this month and was named California Teacher of the Year in 1998. She earned a bachelors in speech arts in 1968 and an elementary teaching credential in 1969 at then-Fresno State College, where she was named Homecoming Queen in 1967. She resides in Madera with her husband, Dr. Gary Duke.

Elaine Mason, a 1947 physical education grad, is the School of Health and Human Services recipient. Now retired, she is a Fresno State professor emeritus and resides in Baton Rouge, La. She was a tennis clinician for the United States Tennis Association, the President’s Fitness Council and the Lifetime Sports Foundation. In 1982, she received the National Tennis Foundation and Hall of Fame Special Merit Award for Outstanding Service to Tennis, and was inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the Northern California Hall of Fame in 1998. (She will be unable to attend the awards function).

Dr. Peter G. Mehas, superintendent of schools in the Fresno County Office of Education, is the School of Social Sciences recipient. He graduated in 1962 with a bachelors in social science and physical education. In 1987, he served as director of the Governor’s Office of Education Planning and Policy Committee. President George Bush appointed Dr. Mehas to a 17-member advisory commission on Latino education in 1991. Dr. Mehas serves as president of the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame, and as community adviser for the Junior League of Fresno. In 1990, he received the Fresno Public Education Fund’s Gold Star Alumni Award and, in 1993, the New United Way’s Annual George A. Osborne Award and the Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship. He resides in Fresno with his wife, Demi. They have two daughters.

Maxwell A. Shuster, Jr., the Sid Craig School of Business recipient, is president of Shuster Insurance Services, Inc. A 1956 grad with bachelors in general business, he was named the 1992 National Honor Agent of Equitable Life and is the largest all-time producer for Equitable Life in the western section of the country, a feat that has landed him in the Equitable Hall of Fame. He and wife Judy have five children and reside in Laguna Beach.

Nancy Osborne, the School of Arts and Humanities recipient, is a news anchor and executive producer for KFSN-TV (ABC) Ch. 30. She is a 1976 speech communications and theater arts grad. In 1980, she launched the first locally-produced news magazine program in the television market, Action News 360. She is a member of the Radio/Television News Directors Association, and a founding and current member of the Fresno Police Activities League Board of Directors. She resides in Fresno and has one daughter and granddaughter.

Larry Layne, a bank executive, is the School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology recipient. A 1963 grad with a bachelors in dairy husbandry, he is a group executive vice president -relationship banking for Sanwa Bank California. He is a past president of East Rotary Fresno, a member and past chairman of the Fresno State Ag Foundation Board of Directors, and a trustee of the Bulldog Foundation. He and his wife, Elise, reside in Sanger and have three sons.

James R. Provost, the president of Provost & Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc. in Fresno, is the School of Engineering and Computer Science recipient. A 1962 grad in civil engineering, he is currently president of the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of the Consulting Engineering and Land Surveyors of California. Since 1982, he has served on the Fresno County Water Advisory Committee and he served on the Fresno County Air Pollution Control District Hearing Board from 1984-1992. He resides in Fresno with his wife, Kay, and two children.

Dr. Patrick V. Vail, a 1960 grad with a bachelors in zoology, is the School of Natural Sciences recipient. He is a laboratory director for the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. In 1995, he was named USDA-ARS Distinguished Scientist of the Year and a Distinguished Scholar by the university’s School of Natural Sciences in 1997. He received the USDA Honor Award for Superior Service in 1996, and a Certificate of Appreciation from United Nationals Environmental Programme in 1995. He and wife, Susan, reside in Fresno and have two daughters. (Dr. Vail will be unable to attend the awards ceremony).