Distinguished Alumni 2008
Gala | Distinguished Alumni Honorees | Criteria | Nomination Form
Molly Harvey Bogen, MSSW ‘73
MS-Social Work
For 32 years Molly Bogen has been executive director of The Senior Source, an organization dedicated to improving quality of life for senior citizens, primarily in Dallas and Collin counties. She has a 50-member staff, a service delivery system with eight programs and an annual operating budget approaching $4 million. She earned her master’s degree in 1973 from the School of Social Work. Licensed by the Texas Board of Social Work Examiners, she is a past president of the Board of Directors of the Southwest Society on Aging and a past chair of the Dallas Association of United Way Agency Executives, and she currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Baylor Specialty Health Centers. She also serves on the School of Social Work task force to develop a UT Arlington Institute on Health and Aging. She received the Dallas Junior Forum’s Woman of Distinction Award in 2006. She lives in Dallas and has two sons.
Dr. Shirley Burchfield ‘72, ‘75, ‘86
BA-SociologyMA-Urban & Public Affairs
Phd-Urban & Public Affairs
Shirley Burchfield is vice president of World Education, a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of the poor. She heads World Education’s programs in Africa and manages a staff of 250 people, with an annual budget of $15 million-$20 million. She is an adjunct associate professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She earned a bachelor’s in sociology from the College of Liberal Arts in 1972, then turned her focus to the School of Urban and Public Affairs, where she received her master’s degree in 1975 and her Ph.D. in 1986. Dr. Burchfield has served as adviser for the Ministry of Education in Somalia, Botswana and Lesotho. In 2003 she became research director for the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Earlier this year she was selected Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional and Executive Women. She and her husband, Weston, live in Stow, Mass., and have two children.
Anita J. Foster ‘89
BA-Communication
Anita Foster is the Metroplex communications officer for the American Red Cross, a position she has held for 10 years. One of the most respected communicators within the humanitarian relief organization, she is recognized nationally for handling difficult media relations matters, teaching public affairs courses and responding to the worst disasters the Red Cross and the United States have experienced over the last decade. She has dealt with crises throughout Texas, Montana, Arizona, Mississippi, New York, Florida and many other states. She led Red Cross communication efforts following the Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting, Tropical Storm Allison, the space shuttle Columbia explosion, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the series of four catastrophic hurricanes in Florida in 2004, and hurricanes Emily, Katrina and Rita in 2005. She lives in Arlington. A graduate of the College of Liberal Arts, she earned her bachelor’s degree in radio-TV in 1989.
Thomas “Trey” Hillman ‘91
BA-Exercise & Sport Studies
Trey Hillman is manager of the Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball team, and he recently completed his first season with the Royals after managing in Japan for five years. He guided the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to the 2006 Japan Series championship, turning the historically unsuccessful franchise into a perennial contender. The title was the Fighters’ first since 1962. Hillman received his bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport studies in 1991. He played shortstop and second base for UT Arlington and still holds the school record for best batting average in a season at .442 in 1985. He managed 12 seasons in the New York Yankees system, guiding his teams to eight winning seasons and four playoff appearances. Baseball America magazine named him Class A Manager of the Year in 1996. In 2000 he was selected International League Manager of the Year. He and his wife, Marie, live in Liberty Hill, Texas, with their two children.
Ron Jensen ‘73
BA-Psychology
Ron Jensen is president of Control Products Corp. in Grand Prairie. Under his leadership CPC has amassed annual sales exceeding $20 million and become an industry leader in interior lighting of airplane cockpits. The company works with Boeing, Lockheed and Bell Helicopter, among others. A graduate of the College of Science, Jensen received his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1973. He started working for CPC in 1972 when he was still a student. A member of the Grand Prairie City Council since 2002, he has been honored twice by the Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce, receiving the Public Service Award in 2004 and being named Man of the Year in 2007. He is a member of the Regional Transportation Council and Grand Prairie Sports Facility Development Corp. and has served as president of Grand Prairie Rotary and chair of the Grand Prairie YMCA. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in Grand Prairie and have three children and three grandchildren.
Virginia A. Lynch ‘90
MS-Nursing
Virginia Lynch has been recognized as an American pioneer in nursing. She was director of forensic nursing and forensic health science at the Beth El College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs prior to establishing her international consulting program to further forensic nursing science in developed and developing countries. She continues to teach forensic nursing part time at the Beth El College of Nursing. A graduate of the School of Nursing, she received her master’s degree in 1990. Her thesis became the first publication on the role development of a forensic specialist in nursing. A prolific writer and frequent lecturer, Lynch helps establish forensic nursing courses at universities and colleges worldwide. She defined forensic nursing as a scientific discipline that later became a formal specialty in nursing recognized by the American Nurses Association Congress of Nursing Practice. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nurses and the founding president of the International Association of Forensic Nurses. She has three daughters and seven grandchildren. She and her husband, Dr. Z.G. Standing Bear, live in Divide, Colo.
Dr. Jeffrey O. Smith ‘88, ‘04
MS-Computer Science EngineeringPhd-Computer Science Engineering
Jeffrey Smith is founder and CEO of Ublip, which develops tracking software for global positioning systems. A graduate of the College of Engineering, he received a master’s degree in 1988 and a Ph.D. in 2004, both in computer science engineering. Dr. Smith recently received the Kauffman Foundation’s Community Award for his entrepreneurial success in business, education and social involvement. In 1993 he co-founded and served as president and CEO of OnRamp Technologies, a leading Internet service provider that grew into one of the largest web-hosting companies in the world. In 2002 he founded and became chief technical officer of SensorLogic, one of the industry’s first telemetry service providers. He also is founder of EntreCorps.org, an Internet-based initiative to leverage successful entrepreneurs’ mental and material assets on behalf of poor countries. A church mission trip to Honduras in 2002 led him to develop self-help programs for the citizens of Magote, a Honduran mountain village. He lives in Dallas, and he and his wife, Lisa, have one son.
Ar. Azroei Ahmad ‘91, ‘93 & Mohd. Zamberi Kusa ’91,’93 – TEAM AWARD
BS-ArchitectureMasters-Architecture
Azroei Ahmad and Mohd. Zamberi Kusa are graduates of the School of Architecture, both receiving bachelor’s degrees in 1991 and master’s degrees in 1993. The Malaysia natives have made distinguished contributions to architecture in their country and worldwide as the driving force behind Azarch Interiors, a large professional practice with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; New Delhi, India; and Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Ahmad serves as chief executive officer and Kusa as chief operations officer. They represent more than 45 Malaysian graduates of the School of Architecture from the late ’80s and early ’90s who studied architecture under sponsorship of the Malaysian government. It was an experiment that fulfilled its intent—to train young architects in the United States so that they would return and contribute to the rapid development of Malaysia. Ahmad is a registered architect with the Board of Architects in Malaysia and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Architects. Kusa is a graduate member of the Malaysian Institute of Architects. Both have completed works in Kuala Lumpur, Havana, Beijing, London, and Astana and Almaty. They have ongoing works in Dubai; Tripoli, Libya; New Delhi, Mohali and Ludhiana, India; and Islamabad, Pakistan. Both live in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Ahmad and his wife, Soria Mohamed, have one daughter. Kusa and his wife, Azian Elias, have three sons.
Gloria Gatlin Bender ‘82, ‘88 – DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI SERVICE AWARD
BS-Industrial EngineeringMS-Industrial Engineering
Gloria Bender is founder and co-owner of Fort Worth-based TransSolutions, LLC, a transportation consulting firm. A graduate of the College of Engineering, she received a bachelor’s degree in 1982 and a master’s degree in 1988, both in industrial engineering. She chaired the first Distinguished Alumni Gala that honored one graduate from each UT Arlington college and school, a dramatic change from previous events. She served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1990-2000, holding every elected office, and she currently serves on the UT Arlington Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Advisory Council and the Development Board. An expert in airport baggage systems, terminal planning and security, she is a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, a former chair of the Airports Council International-North America Board of Directors and an active member of two Transportation Research Board committees. She has lectured in the University of California at Berkeley Airport Planning Course for more than 10 years. She and her husband, David, live in Arlington.
Mary Ann Van Siclen ‘85 – MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES
Masters-Business Administration
Mary Ann Van Siclen received her M.B.A. from UT Arlington in 1985. Upon graduation, she heard that the College of Business Administration was looking for a representative for the Alumni Association Board of Directors. She volunteered, was accepted and has spent the last 20 years involved in a variety of activities, from doing volunteer work to serving as association president. She and her husband, Bob, have established a scholarship endowment through the Alumni Association for junior and senior students. Retired from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Van Siclen served as a member of the advisory board and secretary for Theatre Arlington for three years and as a Girl Scout troop leader for 12 years, guiding more than 30 young women as they earned the Gold Award.
