MSU to honor alumni award winners at Homecoming | Morehead State University

Morehead State University’s Office of Alumni Relations & Development and the MSU Alumni Association will honor the 2025 class of alumni award honorees and the Founders Award winner throughout Homecoming 2025, Oct. 16-18.

These people shall be honored on the Homecoming Alumni Awards Ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, at Luckey Ballrooms A & B on the third ground of the Adron Doran University Center.

“We’re honored to recognize this year’s class of award recipients at homecoming,” mentioned Jessi Ferguson (Class of 2011, 2012), government director of alumni relations and improvement. “They truly demonstrate the impact that Morehead State has on students and within our communities and even the nation.”

Founders Award for University Service

Wayne Martin

Wayne Martin (Class of 1968, 1972) is the recipient of the 2025 Morehead State University Founders Award for University Service.

Established by the Board of Regents in 1978, the Founders Award acknowledges people who’ve given superior service to MSU as staff or volunteers.

Wayne Martin was the pinnacle basketball coach at Morehead State University from 1978 to 1987, main the Eagles to 2 NCAA tournaments. He was named OVC Coach of the Year in 1982 and inducted into the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. He additionally coached three NBA draft picks, together with fellow Athletic Hall of Fame member Bob McCann.

Whether on the courtroom or in his profession that adopted, Martin cultivated a deep connection and shared satisfaction between college students and alumni. He beforehand served as regional vice chairman for Gray Television Inc. and president of Gray Kentucky Television Inc. (now generally known as Gray Media), which operates a number of TV stations throughout Kentucky and the U.S. He is the previous president of WVLT-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was the recipient of the College of Business & Technology Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017.

Martin served on the MSU Board of Regents for 3 separate phrases (1989–93, 2012–14, and 2015–21), providing regular management via the COVID-19 pandemic and serving to the University keep targeted on pupil and employees well-being. He was reappointed for a second time period in 2021, extending his present time period to 2027. Martin was vice chair of the Board of Regents from 2016 to 2020, offering management and continuity throughout key college initiatives.

Alumni Hall of Fame Inductees

The Alumni Hall of Fame is the very best recognition offered by the Alumni Association. It acknowledges those that have made a profound collective influence of their occupation, group, or area.

Juan Dontrese Brown (Class of 1999)

A visionary chief, Brown drives social transformation via strategic management, inventive innovation, and group collaboration. From spearheading the renaming of Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond, Virginia, to main efforts to determine Cristo Rey Richmond High School, Brown has formed schooling, design, and social progress. A sought-after speaker and completed inventive, he serves on quite a few boards and holds superior levels in graphic design.

Ted Docks (Class of 1998, 2002)

Ted Docks, a two-time graduate of Morehead State University and former basketball participant, is the Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Division on the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. He has served in Washington, D.C., Detroit, Houston and Louisville, working in counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and prison applications. He earned the National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medal and has held management roles in numerous FBI divisions, together with the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate and the Houston Field Office.

Pat Petrillo (Class of 1983, 1984)

Pat Petrillo made a big influence on the music business via reside and recorded performances, product innovation, and schooling. A voting member of the Recording Academy/Grammys, he has carried out in Broadway reveals like “A Chorus Line,” “Grease,” “Footloose,” “Newsies,” and “Dreamgirls” and recorded and toured with artists similar to Patti LaBelle, Gloria Gaynor, and Debbie Gibson. Petrillo’s group, The Pat Petrillo Big Rhythm Band, has launched two albums. He has additionally innovated a number of music merchandise and is an Innervision Records recording artist.

2025 Alumni Award Winners

Notable Alumni Award

The Notable Alumni Award is offered to a graduate who excels of their profession discipline or group.

Steven Middleton (Class of 2004, 2008)

Steven Middleton, a senior teacher of mass communication at MSU, teaches programs in TV manufacturing, social media, and documentary filmmaking. Since 2009, 11 of his documentary movies have been showcased by Kentucky Educational Television (KET), typically involving MSU college students via internships and analysis.

Rising Eagle Award

The Rising Eagle Award is given to a graduate of the final 10 years demonstrating early profession success.

Colby Birkes (Class of 2020)

Colby Birkes is a company lawyer at Dentons Bingham Greenebaum LLP, specializing in doc drafting, company governance, regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. Birkes beforehand labored on the U.S. Attorney’s Office and has been concerned with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana. He has additionally served on the Kentucky Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division Executive Committee and revealed on epilepsy driving legal guidelines within the “Louisville Law Review.”

Eagle Spirit Award

The Eagle Spirit Award is given to an exceptionally proud Eagle who frequently demonstrates their satisfaction in some ways.

Steven “Preppy” Engels (Class of 1977)

Steven “Preppy” Engels is a longtime Eagle Ambassador who regularly promotes MSU and helps recruitment efforts. Each yr, Engels proudly represents the University by presenting scholarships to incoming first-year college students at native excessive faculties and distributing MSU supplies, similar to pennants, to companies in his space.

Guest Lectures

Two of this yr’s honorees and graduates from the Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, Global and Legal Studies could have particular talking engagements with college students and the campus group.

Colby Birkes will talk about his profession in legislation and share his experience in company governance, regulatory compliance and mergers and acquisitions at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, in Rader Hall 219. Ted Docks will talk about his adorned profession in federal legislation enforcement, counterintelligence and counterterrorism at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 17, in Rader Hall 103.

“These alumni speakers are living proof of what is possible when students combine strong academic preparation with a commitment to public service,” mentioned Dr. James Masterson, chair of the Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, Global and Legal Studies.

To study extra about alumni awards applications, go to alumni.moreheadstate.edu/alumniawards.