2007 Alumni Achievement Award Winners

Kurt Hall ‘82
ACHIEVEMENT: Kurt Hall is chairman and chief executive officer of National CineMedia, which operates the largest digital in-theatre network in North America. He has an extensive background in the theatre industry, having risen through the ranks of United Artists Theatre Company to serve over a number of years as chief operating officer, chief financial officer, executive vice president, president, chief executive officer, and a director. He became co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of the Regal Entertainment Group upon its combination with United Artists and formed its media division, Regal CineMedia Corporation, where he was president and chief executive officer, in 2002. He was named to his current position upon the combination of Regal CineMedia and National Cinema Network in 2005. Kurt is well known in the business world for the creativity and decision making skills that have led National CineMedia to prominence in the entertainment business. Named as Colorado Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, Kurt also serves as vice president and treasurer of United Artists Theatre Company’s predecessor companies. Prior to joining United Artists, he was director of accounting and financial reporting at Avalon Corporation and a senior accountant with Peat Marwick Main & Company in Denver.

Steven Kanor ‘57
ACHIEVEMENT: Steven Kanor is a biomedical engineer and president and chief executive officer of Enabling Devices, a division of Toys for Special Children, which he founded in 1976. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology at UVM in 1957 and went on to earn his Ph.D. in bioengineering from Sussex University in 1977. In 1973, he began developing devices for people with a range of special needs and devoted his talents to changing the lives of children and adults with such disabling conditions as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and quadriplegia. In the years that followed, he has never lost sight of his mission to use modern technology to improve the quality of life of those with severe disabling conditions. Through a multidisciplinary approach, he has invented unique devices that have been successfully incorporated into rehabilitation programs worldwide. Steven has been profiled in numerous publications, including The New York Times. For more than 30 years, Steven’s “tinkering” with ideas has resulted in products that enrich the lives of people with disabilities around the globe.

Peter Laibson ‘55
ACHIEVEMENT: Peter Laibson is known worldwide for his expertise in treating diseases of the cornea and external eye structures and is respected around the world as an authority on diseases of the eye caused by the Herpes Simplex (cold sore) virus. He is currently a physician and co-director of cornea services at Willis Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, where he had the distinction of being the first ophthalmologist to practice the subspecialty of corneal ophthalmology. He has trained several generations of chiefs of cornea services throughout the United States and around the world and has traveled around the globe to lecture in his areas of expertise. Dr. Laibson was involved in research on the first anti-viral drug used for herpes of the eye. He has served on the FDA Advisory Committee and as president of the Cornea Society and is also recipient of numerous awards and lectureships, including the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Association of Ophthalmologists.

Scott Segal ‘77
ACHIEVEMENT: Scott Segal has earned a reputation as one of the finest trial lawyers in the state of West Virginia. Known nationwide for his work at the cutting edge of the law in representing catastrophically injured people, often against powerful special interests, he has become a lawyer of national standing in the areas of personal injury litigation, including aviation litigation, catastrophic injuries, product liabilities, and toxic torts. He is listed among The Best Lawyers in America and has received numerous honors for his work, including recognition from the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the West Virginia Bar Foundation. In 1996 Scott was asked to become a member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates, and in 1998 he was inducted into the Inner Circle of Advocates, membership in which is limited to one hundred of the best plaintiffs’ trial lawyers in the United States.