Distinguished alumni honored for worldwide impact

The Wisconsin Alumni Association this year for the first time will present Distinguished Alumni Awards to both domestic and international alumni. The award is given annually in recognition of professional achievement and service to the university.

Details The Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented at Madison’s Monona Terrace Convention Center May 7. The event starts with a 6 p.m. reception, with dinner at 7 p.m. For event and ticket information, call Sue Miller, 262-9647.

The expanded awards celebrate UW’s sesquicentennial and will be presented in conjunction with the Chancellor’s International Convocation scheduled May 3-7.

Charlene Barshefsky
As U.S. trade representative, Barshefsky, a 1972 UW–Madison graduate, is America’s lead trade negotiator and the President’s principal adviser on trade policy.

Barshefsky has a long history in international trade relations, including 18 years in international trade law and policy. Barshefsky’s negotiating skill and strategic vision for American trade policy have led to the conclusion of nearly 300 trade agreements, including landmark agreements with Mexico, Canada, Japan and China; the creation of the World Trade Organization; and many others that have contributed immensely to the economic expansion the U.S. has enjoyed over the past six years.

Erik Bye
Bye received his master’s degree in English literature and theater from the university in 1953, and also spent the 1959-60 academic year on campus. Since that time, he has worked to encourage cultural understanding between the U.S. and Norway with his documentaries about Norwegian settlements in the U.S. (especially in Wisconsin) and Native American history.

Bye is well known throughout Norway for his 40-year career with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, which has brought him to many corners of the globe. He is also an accomplished author and lyric poet, and a ballad singer who has recorded several albums.

Marla Ahlgrimm
Ahlgrimm, a 1978 graduate of the School of Pharmacy, has spent nearly 20 years advocating for women’s health. She and her former business partner were the first health professionals in the United States to recognize and develop treatment options for premenstrual syndrome.

Ahlgrimm co-founded Madison Pharmacy Associates, Inc. in 1982 as a customized pharmaceutical resource for women, and currently heads a five-company health care network organized under the umbrella of the Women’s Health America Group.

The group has 40 employees, grossed more than $4 million in 1998, and is the nation’s leading women’s health resource for PMS, perimenopause and menopause.

Ahlgrimm’s commitment to women’s health issues is matched by her commitment to UW–Madison. She is a founding member of the Bascom Hill Society Council on Women’s Giving, and was the first woman to establish a named scholarship at the School of Pharmacy.

Oscar C. Boldt
Boldt, a 1948 graduate of the civil and environmental engineering program, is chairman of the board of the Boldt Group, a construction company headquartered in Appleton.

Boldt took over as president of the company in 1950, and during his tenure the company became the largest construction contractor in Wisconsin, with annual sales exceeding $400 million. Boldt is also a member of the board of directors for Midwest Express Airlines and M&I Bank.

Boldt has supported the College of Engineering and the greater university. The Boldt Group completed several campus construction projects, including the Kohl Center, the UW Foundation building and the Engineering Mall fountain. Boldt served on the UW Industrial Liaison Council for the College of Engineering from 1989 to 1995 and was the group’s chairman in 1993.

Chai-Anan Samudavanija
A widely respected academic, author and political scientist, Chai-Anan has been an outspoken champion of morality and democracy in Thailand.

He chaired a special parliamentary panel in 1996 to create an amendment calling for direct public representation in the drafting of the country’s constitution, and has been politically active in Thailand for nearly 25 years.

Chai-Anan has held a variety of educational and political positions, and currently serves as the director of Vajiravudh College, a primary and secondary school. Chai-Anan holds advanced degrees from UW–Madison in political science, has served as a visiting professor at UW–Madison and is the author of more than 80 books.

Ibrahim Saad
Saad, who received his UW degrees in education policy and political science, currently serves as the deputy minister of transport for Malaysia and has been on the country’s national political scene since 1995, when he was elected to Parliament.

Earlier, Saad held a variety of state political appointments, including deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s department, deputy chief minister of Penang and state executive councilor of Penang.

Although his career has focused on the political arena, Saad has also maintained close ties with the academic community. Saad has been instrumental in establishing the Malaysian chapter of WAA and currently serves as president to its 150 members.

Tsong-Shien Wu
Wu, who received his doctorate in agricultural extension and education from the university in 1968, has maintained strong ties with UW–Madison, serving as a visiting professor in the university’s Department of Continuing and Vocational Education in 1976, and as president of the WAA Taiwan chapter from 1994 to 1996.

Wu’s career reflects his dedication to agricultural study and advancement. He was a member of the agricultural faculty at the National Taiwan University from 1962 to 1998, served as its dean from 1989 to 1995, was chairman from 1971 to 1976 and is currently professor emeritus in its Department of Agricultural Extension. Wu has served on a variety of academic and commercial boards, and holds two positions in the Taiwanese cabinet.

C.K. Chow
Chow, a 1972 graduate in chemical engineering, is currently CEO of GKN PLC, an engineering, aerospace, defense and industrial-services group with operations in 40 countries that employ more than 52,000. The company had sales of $6.15 billion last year.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chow joined GKN in 1996 and became the first non-British CEO to head the 240-year-old company in 1997.

Prior to joining GKN, Chow spent 20 years with the British multinational BOC Group PLC, where he held a variety of positions. Chow was a founding member and the first secretary of WAA’s Hong Kong chapter. His son, David, studies English literature at UW–Madison.

Aman Wirakartakusumah
Wirakartakusumah, who received his master’s (’77) and doctoratal (’81) degrees from UW’s food science program, is currently a professor of food science and technology at Bogor Agricultural University in Bogor, Indonesia.

He has chaired that university’s Food and Nutrition Study Center since 1995 and was director of the Inter-University Center of Food and Nutrition from 1985-1995.

Wirakartakusumah has had international impact within the food science community, serving as an expert on food technology for the Ministry of Food Affairs for Indonesia and as a delegate representing Indonesia for the Indonesia Codex Working Group-National Standardization Council.

Wirakartakusumah has maintained strong ties to the UW and is the founder of Bogor Badger, the only WAA chapter in Indonesia. He has helped many of his students pursue graduate degrees at UW–Madison.

Carlton Highsmith
Highsmith, a 1973 graduate, is president and chief executive officer of Specialized Packaging Group, a packaging design, engineering and brokerage firm with annual sales of more than $75 million and a client roster that includes Proctor & Gamble, Bigelow Teas and Johnson & Johnson.

SPG is the largest minority-owned manufacturer of folding cartons in the U.S. and has been recognized by Black Enterprise magazine since 1989 as one | of the nation’s top 100 minority businesses.

Throughout his career, Highsmith has maintained a high level of commitment to both UW–Madison and to his local community. For example, he is a founding member of the College of Letters and Science Board of Visitors.

Yoshiyuki Kasai
Kasai, who received a master’s degree in economics in 1969, was sent to the UW by his employer, Japanese National Railways.

Kasai has spent his entire career with the Japanese rail industry and played a pivotal role in the successful reorganization and commercialization of the system during the mid-1980s.

He is currently president and representative director of Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), a firm established in 1987 upon the privatization and division of JNR, and his company oversees Japan’s high-speed express train, Tokaido Shinkansen, which has served more than 3.3 billion passengers since 1964. Since his appointment as president of JR Central, Kasai has been actively involved in the financial affairs of the Chubu Region.

Tai Sik Lee
Lee, who received degrees in 1983 and 1990 in civil engineering, also worked as an instructor at UW–Madison and an instructor and supervisor with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Lee returned to Korea in 1990 and has held a number of positions in academia and construction management.

He is currently an associate professor of civil engineering at Hanyang University, and the chairman of the Committee of Construction Section/Technology for the Korean Society of Civil Engineers. Lee is highly respected for his ongoing research in the construction industry, and he is widely published both in Korea and around the world.