2019 Hall of Fame Inductees
School of Business
Dion Joannou, BS Business Administration ’89
Dion Joannou - Video
Joannou is CEO of Accedian, a private company specializing in data analytics and service assurance. Previously, he was CEO of two private companies, one in the consumer segment and the other in clean tech. He also worked for Nortel Networks for 14 years in a variety of roles, including president of North America, president of Latin America and chief strategy officer. Since 2007, he expanded into board and advisory work with a variety of companies in primarily technology and software. He played for SIUE men’s tennis from 1985-89, was a three-time NCAA Division II All-America and was inducted into the SIUE Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
College of Arts & Sciences
Dave Johnson, BA History ’66
Dave Johnson - Video
Johnson has been a thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing broadcaster/journalist for more than 50 years. He has served as track announcer for Hialeah, Santa Anita, Aqueduct, Belmont Park, Saratoga and The Meadowlands. His voice can be heard on hundreds of national commercials and sitcoms, and his race calls are a staple of Hollywood movies and Broadway. As a member of ABC Sports, Johnson called the Triple Crown for more than a quarter century. In 2005, he joined the sports team at Sirius XM satellite radio as co-host of Down the Stretch.
Mark Von Nida, BA Government ’85
Mark Von Nida - Video
Throughout a 30-year career with Madison County, Von Nida developed a reputation as an innovator. In the prosecutor’s office, he was among a group of leaders who helped create the nation’s first locally funded drug court. As a four-term county clerk, he gained national recognition as an election official. He was awarded a U.S. Patent for developing the means that guaranteed secrecy as voters fed their ballot into the tabulator. He was later elected to two terms as circuit court clerk. He led efforts to modernize the court system by digitizing records and expanded public access to the judicial system.
School of Dental Medicine
Dr. Randall Markarian, DMD ’92 Dr. Randall Markarian - VideoMarkarian is president of the Illinois State Dental Society (ISDS) and has held leadership roles with the American Dental Association, St. Clair District Dental Society, American Association of Orthodontists, Illinois Society of Orthodontists and Midwest Society of Orthodontists. He is a member of the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics, the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists. He also has proudly served as a member of the SIU SDM faculty and the SIU SDM Alumni Council. Markarian Orthodontics has two locations in Swansea and O’Fallon.
School of Education, Health and Human Behavior
Jim Herndon, BS Physical Education ’72, MS Education Administration ’78, Specialist Degree Education Administration ’87
Jim Herndon - Video
Herndon has served as a Metro East education and community leader for more than 40 years. He is an instructor in the SIUE Department of Educational Leadership where he contributed to the redesign of the principal preparation program. Before becoming an SIUE instructor in 2006, he served as superintendent of schools for Roxana Community Unit School District No.1. He was a special projects consultant in a $4-billion training and development expansion project of the Conoco-Phillips Wood River Refinery. He also serves as an educational/business consultant from the Illinois Regional Office of Education #45.
School of Engineering
Ted Pruess, BS Civil Engineering ’82, MS Civil Engineering ’86
Ted Pruess - Video
Pruess, P.E., F.SEI, is a structural design engineer with 40 years of experience. Since 1995, he has been an adjunct faculty member in the SIUE Department of Civil Engineering. As a volunteer for the State of Missouri Emergency Agency, he developed a training course for the evaluation of buildings damaged by earthquakes and tornados. He received the Otto Nuttli Award for lifetime achievement in seismic hazard mitigation and is a Fellow in the national Structural Engineering Institute. He served on the Missouri Seismic Safety Commission for nine years. He was an invited speaker on Structural Engineering at the Tyumen Institute of Architectural and Civil Engineering in Tyumen, Russian Federation.
School of Nursing
Dr. Cheryl Killion, BS Nursing ’70
Dr. Cheryl Killion - Video
Killion, a nurse and medical anthropologist, is an associate professor of nursing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The focus of her research, teaching and service has been to prevent and eliminate health inequities. Previously, she was the director of the Center for Minority Health at Hampton University in Virginia. She has also served as a faculty member at the University of Michigan, UCLA and Cairo University in Egypt. By serving as an appointed member of the Minority Health Advisory Committee, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHSS), she has made significant contributions in shaping health policy.
School of Pharmacy
The School of Pharmacy will induct its first member in 2019 on the tenth anniversary of its first graduating class.
Graduate School
Dr. Shirley Portwood, BA History ’70, MA History ’73
Dr. Shirley Portwood - Video
Portwood earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from SIUE, and a second master’s and PhD in history from Washington University in St. Louis. After beginning her teaching career in 1972 at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, she returned to SIUE in 1980, spending most of her career as faculty in the Department of Historical Studies. Her teaching earned multiple awards, including the SIUE Teaching Excellence Award, the Sojourner Truth Award, Women of Distinction Award and Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award. After retiring as emeritus professor in 2007, she has continued to serve by sitting on the SIU Board of Trustees.
