Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - As commencement approaches at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, the UW-Platteville Alumni Association looks to bestow recognition upon several distinguished alumni at the spring ceremony. This semester, alumni John Somerville of Rockford, Mass., Gregory Carpenter of Waukesha, Ann Livingston McGregor of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and David Allen of Platteville will be honored with distinguished alumnus awards.

"We are proud to have such high caliber individuals as alumni of this University," said Ann Philip, director of UWP Alumni Services. "They are most deserving of this award. All four individuals are truly leaders in all aspects of their lives, exhibiting the ethical and moral character that one expects at this level."

Allen is a two-time graduate of UWP, earning his bachelor's degree in secondary education in 1976 and his master's degree in agricultural industries in 1979. He also has a master's degree in educational administration from UW-Madison. Allen has worked for the Platteville School District for 27 years, serving as an administrator for 24 of those years. Under the leadership of Allen, Platteville Middle School received the Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Educators 1991 Institutional Services Award for exemplary middle level educational programs and practices and the National Association of Secondary School Principals 2001 recognition of the Platteville Middle School as one of the 100 most highly successful middle schools in the nation. Allen has personally been recognized for his outstanding leadership, receiving the 2002 Wisconsin Middle School Principal of the Year Award.

Allen's commitment to education goes beyond the schoolyard, as he serves on the executive committee of the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators and on the boards of the Wisconsin Foundation for Educational Administration and the Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Education. He served on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Administrative Licensure Task Force and worked on the team that developed the educational administration degree program for UWP. Allen is also an active UWP alumnus, serving on the alumni association board and chairing the education and liberal studies alumni chapter and working with the biology advisory council.

McGregor enrolled in the Wisconsin State College - Platteville and graduated in 1962, earning a degree in secondary education with an art major and a history minor. After graduation, McGregor left Wisconsin for Los Angeles. She worked in public relations and publicity for Walt Disney Productions and performed with the "Disney Players." During her four-year employment with Disney, she was promoted to music publisher. Capitalizing on her family background in harness racing and standard-bred horses, McGregor left Disney for the position of director of special events and group sales for western harness racing at the Hollywood Park and Santa Anita Race Tracks. It was this career decision that led to her outstanding achievements in harness horse breeding and training and the promotion of harness racing.

McGregor's position with Western Harness Racing involved the development of charity and fund raising programs; the advertising and promotion of harness racing on an international level and the promotion of celebrity racing. Needing to be closer to the action, she and her husband, John - a horse trainer from Manitoba, Canada - built a ranch in San Jacinto for training and breeding harness horses. For 11 years, McGregor served as publisher for a national magazine for harness racing, "The California Standardbred." She has served on the Harness Horse Breeders Board of Directors and was the first woman to chair the multi-million dollar California Standard-bred Sires Stakes Program. McGregor has brokered racehorses internationally, including buying and selling horses for the Moscow Circus and was honored as the Harness Racing Woman of the Year. McGregor is also has a successful career in real estate with sales in excess of $350 million and is an active artist and designer.

Carpenter earned his bachelor's degree in music education from UWP in 1969. As a student, he was active in University Singers, Madrigal Singers, the Marching Pioneers and Music Educators National Conference. Carpenter's reputation for excellence and his passion for music and teaching are widely recognized. He is the 2001 recipient of the Morris Hayes Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to choral music from the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association and served the Parkview Public Schools, Orfordville, as director of choral activities from 1969 through 1982. From 1982 through 2002, Carpenter served as the director of choral activities at Waukesha South High School. His choirs appeared, by invitation, at a state or divisional American Choral Directors Association or Music Educators National Conference convention every year, for 10 years in a row. Additionally, his choirs have been awarded best in class awards at national festivals.

Carpenter has also been a leader in music professional organizations and his community. He served on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association for 10 years, accepting a three-plus year term as president. Carpenter currently serves on the board of directors of the North Central Division of the American Choral Directors Association and is president-elect of the organization. He is also associated with the Waukesha Choral Union, one of the elite community choirs in Wisconsin, since 1987 and currently serves as conductor and artistic director. Carpenter teaches private voice lessons, serves as an adjunct faculty member at UW-Milwaukee, and is also the director of high school choirs with the children's choir of Waukesha.

Somerville graduated from UWP in 1963 with a degree in civil engineering. He continued his education, earning a master's degree in civil engineering from Stanford University and attending Harvard University as a participant of the advanced management program. Somerville had a distinguished 23-year career with Montgomery-Watson, Inc., and was a major participant in the development and implementation of the strategy that grew the company from $10 million in revenue in 1970 to more than $260 million in 1993. He served the company as vice president and Boise office manager; senior vice president and northwest regional manager; executive vice president and director of marketing and planning; executive vice president and program manager of San Diego's $1.3 billion clean water program; president and chief executive officer and vice chairman of the board of directors.

In 1993, Somerville accepted a position with AECOM Technology Corporation, a global leader in the technical professional services industry, serving as vice president of corporate development. Since April of 2000, Somerville has served as president of Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., one of the United States' best-known environmental engineering companies. Under his leadership, Metcalf & Eddy increased the number of employees by 30 percent and increased the dollar value of new project wins by nearly 400 percent.

Selection criteria for the award includes professional accomplishments, community involvement, involvement with the University, awards and recognition they have received and education backgrounds. All awardees will receive a plaque and another plaque, noting their accomplishments, will be displayed in the alumni lounge of the Pioneer Student Center.