Fifty years and over 70,000 alumni later, NIU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences celebrated its golden anniversary in grand fashion Friday evening.

The college honored its 50 most distinguished graduates at the anniversary gala, highlighting the very best NIU has produced over the decades.

I was privileged enough to have the opportunity to attend the event and to meet many of the individuals honored.

My near three-and-a-half years at NIU have led me to develop a tremendous attachment to this university and its community, but it was not until Friday that I truly began to appreciate the caliber of student that NIU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is capable of producing.

Certainly, many of the names that were present ring a bell in the heads of more than a few students.

Jeffrey Yordon’s (B.S. Political Science, 1970) name probably tops the list given that it adorns the building in the north endzone at Huskie Stadium.

Yordon is the Chief Executive Officer of Sagent Pharmaceuticals, a specialty manufacturer of injectable products.

The college has some star-studded alumni as well. Robert Katz (B.A. Communication Studies, 1987) was executive-in-charge of production for the movie “Crash,” which won the Academy Award for best film in 2006.

Bill Weinman (B.A. Communication Studies, 1984) has worked on movies including “The Fugitive” and “The Shawshank Redemption” and has produced and edited over 150 commercials and promos.

Then there are those who, though not as well known, have left an indelible mark on their field and in their community. Zerrie Campbell (B.A. English, 1972;

M.S.Ed. Secondary Education, 1974), one of the speakers at the gala, became the first African-American woman president of Malcolm X College when she was just 42 years old.

Markos Zuniga (B.A. Philosophy and Journalism, 1996; B.A. Political Science, 1996) – a former Northern Star editor in chief – is the founder and publisher of the popular weblog “Daily Kos,” named the “single most successful entrepreneur of the progressive movement” by The New York Times.

And one would be remiss not to mention Manuel “Manny” Sanchez (B.A. Political Science, 1970), managing partner of Sanchez, Daniels & Hoffman, the second largest certified minority-owned law firm in the U.S.; a founding member of the Mexican–American Lawyers Association and the Latin–American Bar Association; and member of NIU’s Board of Trustees.

There’s hardly enough newsprint to name all the alumni honored, much less highlight their remarkable accomplishments.

This anniversary event, organized so impressively by Lois Self, Bob Kornecki, college Dean Christopher McCord and countless others, truly was a testament to the college’s great accomplishments and continued contributions to the success of its graduates.

Here’s to 50 more years.

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.