2016 Alumni Achievement Awards

Knox celebrated the 179th anniversary of its founding with the presentation of Alumni Achievement Awards at the 2016 Founders Day Convocation on Friday, February 19, in the Muelder Room, Seymour Library.

Receiving 2016 awards were, pictured above from left: Katie Bell '08, artist; Dr. Ernest Buck '74, physician; Marcea Bland Lloyd '68, attorney; Dr. Thomas E. Brown '64, psychologist; and Rachel Abarbanell '02, film producer.

2016 Recipients 

Thomas E. Brown '64
Citation presented by Tim Kasser, Professor of Psychology

Thomas Brown graduated from Knox College in 1964 and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Yale University. Dr. Brown teaches in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale Medical School and maintains a private practice in Hamden, Connecticut, specializing in assessment and treatment of high-IQ children, adolescents, and adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and related problems.

As one of the world's leading experts on ADD, Dr. Brown has lectured throughout the U.S. and in more than 40 other countries. His research interests and publications include assessment and treatment of ADD, especially in persons with high IQ; executive function and memory impairments in ADD; overlap of ADD and learning disorders; use of combined medications for ADD comorbidities; and problems of sleep and awakening in ADD.

Dr. Brown has presented papers, workshops, and symposia at national meetings of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, the National Attention Deficit Disorder Association, and CHADD (Children and Adults With ADHD), among other national associations.

For his research and teaching about ADHD, Dr. Brown received an award of honor by the National Attention Deficit Disorder Association. He has been inducted into the CHADD Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to research and professional education about ADHD in children and adults. He has also been elected a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Brown has served on the Professional Advisory Board for national CHADD and for the National Attention Deficit Disorder Association. He has published articles in professional journals and is author of the Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scales for Children, Adolescents and Adults. He has published four books on ADHD, including the award-winning, Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults. His book, A New Understanding of ADHD in Children and Adults, Executive Function Impairments, was released by Routledge in 2013, and most recently, Smart but Stuck: Emotions in Teens and Adults with ADHD, was published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley in March, 2014.

Torn met his wife, Roberta Hallquist Brown '65 at Knox. Their son, David, is with us today to celebrate with his father.

Ernest Buck '74
Citation presented by Linda Dybas '64, Professor of Biology

Ernest Buck graduated from Knox College in 1974 and went on to receive his medical degree from Rush Medical College. He has served as a pediatrician in Corpus Christi, Texas, for 38 years.

A colleague describes Ernie as a "mainstay in pediatrics in South Texas," saying he has served in a multitude of positions for public and private organizations oriented towards health care improvement, specifically those activities that advance the improvement of care for all children. Ernie has given his time to countless committees that advised the State Department of Health and the Texas Medicaid Program. This service eventually led him to take the position as chief medical officer for the Driscoll Health Plan. Here, he worked to develop a unique style of health plan management to care for children in South Texas on Medicaid and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program). He is known statewide as an expert in children's care, public policy, physician engagement, and improving population health. It was his idea to concentrate on the health of pregnant women to decrease the high premature birth rates in his community. With programs that include educational baby showers for pregnant women and their families, premature birth rates have improved from nearly 15% to 10% in five years.

For more than 30 years, Ernie has devoted his time and expertise serving on or chairing Texas Pediatric Society (TPS) committees. He served the TPS Executive Board as a member at-large, chair of the South Central Texas Region, as President-Elect, President, and, finally, as immediate Past-President. He was then elected to serve on the TPS Foundation, where he and his wife, Fran Willms, have been instrumental in raising thousands of dollars in donations to help serve the children of Texas.

In 2014, Ernie was awarded the Charles W. Daeschner, Jr, MD Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding lifetime contributions to the health and welfare of the children of Texas and to the Texas Pediatric Society. This is the society's highest award for lifetime achievement in pediatrics in Texas.

The Buck family has deep ties with Knox, and Ernie is not the first member of his family to be standing here at this annual ceremony. Ernie's brother, Dr. Bill Buck '64, was an Alumni Achievement Award recipient in 1991, and his late brother, Ken Buck '79, received the Knox Service Award in 1996. Bill and Ernie support the Buck Family Endowed Scholarship.

Marcea Bland Lloyd '68
Citation presented by Lane Sunderland, Professor of Political Science

Marcea Bland Lloyd graduated from Knox College in 1968, earned a J.D. from Northwestern University, and went on to become a distinguished leader and mentor for the next generation of female executives.

Marcea is the retired senior vice president, chief administrative officer, and general counsel for Amylin Pharmaceuticals. In her role at Amylin, she oversaw, planned, and implemented policies related to staffing and human resources, while maintaining responsibility for the Company's legal government and corporate affairs functions. Marcea was the executive sponsor of AROW (Amylin Reaching Out to Women), and was engaged in expanding the company's flex-time, mentoring, and remote work opportunities.

Prior to joining Amylin, she served as group senior vice president, chief administrative officer, general counsel and secretary of VHA Inc. From 1993 to 1999, Marcea was vice president and assistant general counsel of Medtronic, Inc. Earlier in her career, she served as counsel to Pillsbury Company, Montgomery Ward & Co., and taught business law at the University of Minnesota Business School.

Marcea has served on the Executive Leadership Foundation, the nation's premier leadership organization comprised of the most senior African American corporate executives in Fortune 500 companies. She helped found the Council's "Women on Wall Street" group and was Board liaison to NextGen Network, a group that fosters initiatives aimed at identifying and mentoring African American business leaders. In addition, she served on the board of directors for California Healthcare Institute, and is an associate of the Women Business Leaders of the United States Health Care Industry Foundation.

In 2012, San Diego Athena recognized Marcea with the Pinnacle Award for the "Individual in Life Science" category. This award is presented annually to an individual who fosters the personal and professional growth of women through mentoring, education, recognition, and leadership training, thereby enhancing diversity, competitiveness, and opportunity within an organization, industry, and the San Diego business community.

Marcea is a nationally recognized speaker on some of today's most pressing topics for working women, such as surviving work/home imbalance and building a successful blended family.

Rachel Abarbanell '02
Citation presented by Elizabeth Carlin Metz, Professor of Theatre

Rachel Abarbanell graduated from Knox College in 2002 with a major in economics and minor in directing for the theatre. While at Knox, Rachel worked as an intern for Toast Productions, a full-service film and HDTV production company serving Fortune 500 companies worldwide. As part of a post-baccalaureate fellowship in film studies, she completed a project that, according to the late Professor Robert Whitlatch, served as "fine promotion for the theatre and dance department."

Inquiries to alumni in Los Angeles led to an internship with independent film company Millennium Films. Her stint at Millennium led to a full time job as their production coordinator and assistant to producer John Thompson. At Millennium, Rachel worked on 18 features, including The Black Dahlia, 16 Blocks, The Wicker Man, and 88 Minutes.

From Millennium, Rachel moved on to Lynda Obst Productions, where she grew into the position of president of production. Lynda Obst Productions has produced numerous well-known films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Contact, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and, most recently, the television series Helix. Rachel juggled an array of roles in the production of television and film, from coming up with an idea and working with both the writer and studio in developing it, to casting, crewing up, and physical production. Independently, she has also produced two shorts, Whatever Happened to Gavin Buckmaster and The Insect Chorus.

To help other young women achieve similar success, Rachel co-founded Next Gen Femmes to foster a community of young female professionals in the entertainment industry. She has volunteered her time with University of Southern California film students, and returned to the Knox campus in 2014 to talk with students about starting a career in film and television.

Rachel's most recent project was the pilot for the Amazon Prime TV series Good Girls Revolt. The pilot aired in November, and was ordered for a full season. The writers room opened in late January.

Rachel worked her way up in a difficult field, from intern to production assistant to production coordinator to president for production. Doc Bob said, "she had a vision early of where she wanted to go ...and she did this on her own through her own self-discipline."

Katie Bell '08
Citation presented by Mark Holmes, Associate Professor of Art

Katie Bell graduated from Knox College in 2008, and after a year as a post baccalaureate fellow in the art department, earned a master of fine arts degree from the acclaimed Rhode Island School of Design. It was here that her work moved from drawing into the large-scale paintings and installations she exhibits today.

In 2011, Katie was awarded a year-long residency at the prestigious Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation in Brooklyn, where she now lives and works. Since then, her work has been included in many exhibits across the country, from New York to Nashville to London and Rouen. In 2013, Katie had her debut New York solo show at Mixed Greens Gallery in Chelsea—a major milestone in the career of an artist.

Katie transforms what she finds into paintings, installations, and sculptures. "I am both a homemaker and a homewrecker," she says of her work, "pulling up the rug, opening the closet, and turning up the blinds." She then organizes what she finds into wildly abstract compositions. Her ability to construct and deconstruct her surroundings is gaining attention in the art world. She was named one of the "8 Great Brooklyn Artists Under 30," and her work has been featured in FastCompany and Bomb magazines, among other media. In the past year, Katie received a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship.

There is a profound gratification that comes from witnessing a student go from an initial interest, through periods of frustration, excitement, and discovery towards a deepened and sustaining passion and commitment to their work. As teachers, this is what rewards and replenishes us. But to watch Katie thrive in the most competitive and exciting arenas of the art world also assures us that Knox students can achieve their most audacious ambitions. Katie moves through that world with the spirit of enthusiasm, humor, intelligence, and generosity that we loved about her as a student. She still feels like one of ours, and we all take immense joy in her successes.

Previous Alumni Achievement Award Recipients