Alumni Achievement Award recipients are recognized for professional achievement, service to the University and for public service. Honored alumni this year are Mike and Julia Nielsen Chaney (each B.S. ‘63) for Service to the University; Harvey Jewett (B.A. ’70, J.D. ‘73) of Aberdeen, S.D., for Public Service; and Elizabeth Foley Zorn (B.S. ’87, M.D. ‘91) of Phoenix, Ariz., for her Professional Accomplishments.

Mike and Julia Chaney both obtained their bachelor’s degrees from USD in 1963. The Chaney family has a long and proud history of being actively engaged in supporting the University and the Vermillion community. They have been enthusiastic supporters of Coyote athletics and have served on the board of directors of the USD Alumni Association, with Mike serving as treasurer of the organization for over 28 years. Julia was on the staff of the USD Alumni Association where she took an active role in planning Dakota Days and other alumni events for nearly a decade. Additionally, the Chaneys have been supportive and actively engaged in their respective Greek organizations on the USD campus, Beta Theta Pi and Pi Beta Phi.

Download a photo of Mike and Julia is available.

Jewett received his bachelor’s degree in 1970 and juris doctor in 1973 after serving as editor-in-chief of the South Dakota Law Review. In addition to a successful law career and success in private business, including as president and COO of Super 8 Enterprises, Jewett has spent much of his life serving the citizens of South Dakota in a variety of capacities. Most notably, he was appointed by Gov. Bill Janklow to the South Dakota Board of Regents in 1997. He was elected to serve as president of the board in 1999, a capacity he served in for an unprecedented 10-year period. He will continue to be a member of the board through 2011. In addition, Jewett serves or has served on many boards and committees, including the Governor’s Commission on K-12 Education, Great Plains Education Foundation, Dakota Corp Scholarship Program, Education Assistance Corporation, Student Loan Finance Corporation, the USD Foundation and the USD Law School Foundation and Children’s Home Society. A member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Jewett and his wife, Cynthia, live in Aberdeen where he serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Rivett Group LLC.

Download a photograph of Harvey.

Dr. Elizabeth Foley Zorn, a native of Tyndall, S.D., earned her bachelor’s degree in 1987 and her medical degree at USD in 1991. Zorn recently became the first woman to be elected Medical Staff President at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in the institution’s 27-year history. Earlier in her medical career, she earned distinction as Intern of the Year, Resident of the Year and Chief Resident at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix. Later, she took the position of Medical Director of the Pediatric Critical Care Unit at Phoenix Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the largest of its kind in the Southwest and one of the largest in the country. An alumna of Alpha Phi, she and her husband, James, live in Phoenix with their children, Emma and Alex.

Download a photo of Dr. Zorn.

For more information about the Alumni Association or the Dakota Day activities, please visit www.usdalumni.com or contact the Alumni Association office at (605) 677-6734 or 800-655-2586.

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