26th Annual Fairfield Awards Dinner: "Celebrating a Tradition of Opportunity" | Press Releases

Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Grand Hyatt New York, New York City

Benefitting the Fairfield University Multicultural Scholarship Fund

Fairfield University's 26th Annual Fairfield Awards Dinner, "Celebrating a Tradition of Opportunity," will be held on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City. The Fairfield Awards Dinner benefits the Fairfield University Multicultural Scholarship Fund and is Fairfield University's major fundraising event.

Image: Cynthia Bigalow This year's Awards Dinner features as keynote speaker Cynthia R. Bigelow, President & CEO, Bigelow Tea, a family-owned company headquartered in Fairfield, Conn., and the national market leader of specialty teas, employing 330 people across three manufacturing facilities and producing over 1.6 billion tea bags annually.

The Fairfield Awards Dinner will also recognize alumni, faculty, and staff for the highest levels of professional achievement, outstanding leadership, academic excellence, and meritorious service. The 2013 dinner honorees are the following:

Alumni Professional Achievement Award, Carlos M. Cardoso '81, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kennametal Inc., a leading industrial technology company that develops highly engineered tooling, advanced materials, and expertise to diverse sectors in industrial production, transportation, energy, and infrastructure.

Alumni Service Award, Robert L. Berchem '62, P'92, Principal and President of Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C., one of Connecticut's most prominent law firms. A former Fairfield University trustee, Mr. Berchem served as co-chairman of the Class of 1962's 50th Reunion Gift Committee. Over sixty percent of the class participated, raising the largest 50th Reunion class gift in Fairfield's history.

Honorary Alumna, Nancy Lynch , P'95, a significant role-player in the recruiting and mentoring of members of the first advisory board for the University's School of Nursing. The auditorium in the School of Nursing was named The Nancy Lynch Auditorium in 2008.

Distinguished Faculty/Administrator Award, Eugene Doris , Fairfield University Director of Athletics, who has been with Fairfield University since 1994 and under whose guidance the University has expanded to 20 varsity sports and a solid Division I standing.

The Fairfield Award, James P. and Linda C. Slattery , P'92, and the Slattery Family , who established a foundation to support scholarships at Fairfield University named in honor of Chris Slattery '92, who died in the World Trade Center attacks.

Fairfield Awards Dinner Co-Chairs are Bill and Peggy Atwell , P'08, Frank '89 and Susan Carroll , and Gavin and Marybeth O'Connor '88.

The University's Multicultural Scholarship Fund has been the beneficiary of the Awards Dinner, held annually since 1988. Over the course of its twenty-five years, the Fairfield Awards Dinner has raised more than $14 million for the endowed Fairfield University Multicultural Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships to hundreds of AHANA (African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American) students. For additional information, contact the Fairfield University Office of Corporate Relations, (203) 254-4000, ext. 2927, or visit www.fairfield.edu/awardsdinner .