Honoring talented alumni is a highlight of Homecoming, from the career and community success of the Distinguished Alumni and First Decade Awardee to the continued commitment to Austin College of the Heywood C. Clemons Volunteer Service Award and the Cindy Bean Service-to-Alumni Award honorees.
| Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients |
Amanda Clausen Hammel ’95 is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Memorial Hermann Health System. A nationally recognized leader for population health technology, she has guided Memorial Hermann to become a national leader of Accountable Care Organizations for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services since joining the system in 2007. Amanda is a member of the steering committee for the nonprofit IGNITE, which engages executive-level women to generate innovative solutions in healthcare. She and her husband, Brad, are active members of Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Houston, where Amanda serves in the choir and in women’s ministry.
Jeffrey Levin ’79, M.D., is Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. Much honored for his work, Dr. Levin has received the Marcus Key Award from the Texas College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, The University of Texas System Regents Outstanding Teaching Award, and the Texas College Legacy Award, among others. A Professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, he has helped develop JanTerm and Gateways opportunities for Austin College students at UTHSC, particularly in Public Health and Biotechnology. Jeffrey and his wife, Virginia Harleston ’79, live in Tyler.
Don Newsom ’64 enjoyed a celebrated career as an educator, coach, athletic director, and administrator before his retirement. He taught and coached football, baseball, and track in several Texas school districts and coached at Austin College and McMurry College. Don received many NAIA coaching awards, and Austin College recognized him with induction to the Athletic Hall of Honor in 1983 and the 2015 Joe Spencer Award for Lifetime Achievement and Meritorious Service in Coaching. He is a former Citizen of the Year in Celina, where he previously served as Chamber of Commerce president. He and his wife, Carol (Campbell) ’62, a 1997 Distinguished Alumna, live in McKinney, Texas.
| First Decade Award |
Madison Messinger ’14 graduated from Austin College with majors in International Relations and Chinese Studies. An alternate for the prestigious Boren Scholarship, she studied in China with support from a Gilman Scholarship. She began nonprofit work with Literacy AmeriCorps before joining North Texas Food Bank in Dallas, Texas. Today, she is that agency’s Child Programs Administrator, overseeing programs that serve approximately 13,000 children. She designs innovative program models, engages local hunger coalitions, and speaks on behalf of the food bank to community and corporate groups. She has received several professional recognitions for her work.
| Heywood C. Clemons Volunteer Service Award |
Blake Utter ’07 graduated from Austin College with a degree in Business Administration. He is the owner and General Manager of Blake Utter Ford in Denison, Texas. Blake is known by many as the voice of Kangaroo football, providing play-by-play commentary when Austin College plays at home in Apple Stadium throughout the fall. An active member of the local community, Blake serves on the boards of directors of Boys and Girls Club of Denison and The Rehabilitation Center in Sherman, among other activities.
| Cindy Bean Service-to-Alumni Award |
Michael W. Deen works to connect with Austin College students throughout their education, and that commitment helps him to better serve them once they move into the next step of life as alumni. He continues to welcome and serve alumni in every visit to campus and beyond, seeking to maintain alumni connections to the College community. He began work at Austin College in 2005 and has served as Associate Director of Student Life, Director of Student Life, and now, Dean of Students. He has further served the College on the President’s Inclusion and Diversity Task Force.