2005 Alumni Achievement Award Winners
Richard Erdman '75
ACHIEVEMENT: Over his three-decade career, Richard Erdman has established himself as an internationally acclaimed sculptor. His monumental work "Passage," a 45-ton sculpture of Roman travertine marble, sits at the entrance to the world famous sculpture gardens at PepsiCo headquarters in Purchase, N.Y. Erdman's other major commissions include a project for the EastWest Institute to produce a centerpiece for the organization's headquarters and annual awards that have been presented to world leaders, including President Bush. His works is on display at Princeton University, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Four Seasons Park in Singapore, and numerous public and private collections worldwide.
UVM DAYS: Erdman competed for Coach Chip LaCasse's Catamount ski team during his undergraduate years and credits the athletic lessons of discipline, focus, and personal challenge for helping him develop as an artist. After a post-graduation trip to study stone carving in Italy, Erdman worked intensively to hone his skill in the Williams Hall sculpture studio, where Professor Paul Aschenbach was a key mentor and friend.
IN HIS WORDS: "I believe in movement, that's what life is all about. I like to work quickly; I love having a mess when I create. Something will tumble on the floor and I'll see a shape or an idea that inspires me and I'll pick it up. You have to allow chance."
Charlene Begley '88
ACHIEVEMENT: After graduating magna cum laude from UVM's School of Business Administration, Charlene Begley went to work for General Electric and soon began a meteoric rise through the ranks of the corporate structure. By 1997, Begley had become GE Transportation's chief financial officer and two years later was promoted to vice president of the corporate audit staff. At age 32, she became GE's youngest-ever corporate officer. When Begley was named president and CEO of GE Transportation Systems in 2003, she became the first woman to run a major GE unit.
UVM DAYS: The intellectual power and interpersonal skills at the foundation of Begley's career were readily apparent during her undergraduate years, according to one of the professors who knew her best. Lauck Parke, UVM's vice president for undergraduate education and a longtime professor in the School of Business, recalls her work on a group project in his Principals in Management class. "Charlene was the kind of student who is at the center of keeping it all together," Parke says. "The natural leadership talents to be both a social manager and a task manager were there from an early age."
IN HER WORDS: "For you who really want to think big, is it possible to imagine a culture where 'the best possible return' is more a measure of the overall health of a business, its employees, and its community; where issues like work-family balance, community involvement and environmental preservation are given more than lip-service treatment, but rather play a prominent role in how we define and reward successful companies?" (From her 2004 commencement address to the UVM School of Business Administration graduates.)
(for UVM staff)