2022 Hall of Fame Inductees
College of Arts and Sciences
Terry Ganey
BA Mass Communications ’70
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Terry Ganey is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author. During a 28-year career with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he received numerous regional reporting awards and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting for his disclosures of Missouri's Second Injury Fund scandal. Ganey’s two nonfiction books have appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and he served as the collaborating writer with U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill on her political memoir. Ganey was a member of the first class of SIUE graduates to earn a bachelor’s in mass communications. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves shortly before graduation and was honorably discharged in 1976. In 2003, Ganey covered U.S. Army operations in Iraq and recounted the chaos that had enveloped Baghdad. He holds a master’s in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Kathleen Madigan
BA Mass Communications ’88
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Kathleen Madigan is one of the most respected comedians of her generation. After more than three decades in the industry, Madigan continues to sell out theaters across the country and around the world with her stand-up act during which she has “all but perfected the art of crafting and delivering a perfect joke,” according to the Chicago Tribune. After earning a bachelor’s in mass communications, Madigan decided to try stand-up comedy at the St. Louis Funny Bone Comedy Club’s open mic night. Before long, she was performing at Funny Bone comedy clubs across the country. Today, Madigan is still traveling the country 250 nights a year while squeezing in appearances on late night talk shows and performing at international comedy festivals. She has released five highly-rated comedy specials, with a sixth scheduled for release in early 2023.
School of Business
Damon Harbison
Master of Business Administration ’04
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Damon Harbison has an expansive business background with experience in for-profit and nonprofit healthcare. His clinical background includes radiologic sciences and the oncology field. Harbison joined Saint Louis University Hospital in 2000 and transitioned to SSM Health in 2010, where he has had the opportunity to serve in several leadership positions, including his current role as president of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia, Ill. He also leads Washington County Hospital in Nashville, Ill., and Clay County Hospital in Flora, Ill. Harbison serves as a member of the SIUE School of Business Advisory Board, along with several other community and philanthropic boards. In addition to his MBA, he also holds an associate’s in applied science in radiologic sciences from Kaskaskia College and a bachelor’s in radiologic sciences from Washington University/Jewish Hospital College.
School of Dental Medicine
Bruce Rotter
Doctor of Dental Medicine ’82
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Bruce Rotter, DMD, retired as dean of the SIU School of Dental Medicine (SDM) in 2021 after nearly 10 years at the helm. He joined the SDM in 1993 as an assistant professor and is the only alumnus to hold the position of dean. Among his many notable accomplishments, Rotter led the SDM three times through reaccreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation and navigated the School through the COVID-19 pandemic. He established several important programs within the SDM, led construction efforts on the Multidisciplinary Simulation Lab and the Advanced Care Clinic, and established the SDM Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. During his tenure as dean, Rotter secured more than $10 million in charitable support and created the Dean’s Scholarship Program to help ensure dental education remains affordable and accessible for deserving dental students.
School of Education, Health and Human Behavior
Franklin Boster, PhD
BA Psychology ’72
MA Behavioral Science ’75
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Franklin Boster, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert of social influence and group dynamics and professor emeritus in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University (MSU). A native of East St. Louis, Ill., Boster earned both a bachelor’s and master’s from SIUE before pursuing his doctorate at MSU. His first academic appointment was at Arizona State University, where he spent nine years before returning to MSU. For the next 33 years, Boster served as a faculty member and researcher, earning numerous awards for both endeavors. He also held appointments in the Law School and Trial Practice Institute at MSU and in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health at the University of Iowa. Boster is the former editor of Communication Monographs, a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on human communication, and is a fellow in the International Communication Association.
School of Engineering
Scott Miller
BS Civil Engineering ’96
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Scott Miller, PE, is at the forefront of an effort to improve housing affordability and sustainability around the world. As vice president of global structural system technology at MiTek, Inc., Miller is leading a global research and development team focused on innovations that drive off-site construction. Pushing more of the construction process to a controlled environment with higher quality assurance and control has proven to reduce building cycle time, waste and dependency on scarce qualified tradespeople working on job sites. Miller and his team are delivering solutions to improve the way buildings perform in earthquakes and wind events as well as how they resist fire. In addition to his work at MiTek, Inc., Miller actively serves on several community and professional boards, including the SIUE School of Engineering Advisory Board.
School of Nursing
Frank Grasso (L)
BS Nursing ’06
MS Nurse Anesthesia ’10
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Kyle Griffith (R)
MS Nurse Anesthesia ’05
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Frank Grasso and Kyle Griffith are making their mark on the healthcare industry, achieving success in their dual roles as certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA) and co-owners of G&G Anesthesia. Griffith launched the company in 2009, and Grasso became a joint owner in 2014. Since then, the pair has been partnering with hospitals across the U.S. to offer 24/7 on-site anesthesia management solutions customized to each facility’s needs. Breaking the mold of traditional anesthesia care, Grasso and Griffith offer anesthesia providers the opportunity to work for a CRNA-owned group instead of a hospital, national company or physician group. The innovative company has seen explosive growth since its inception and takes advantage of the pipeline of highly-qualified graduates from the SIUE School of Nursing. Through a collaborative approach, G&G Anesthesia is increasing quality, safety, satisfaction and outcomes for medical facilities across the country.
School of Pharmacy
Diana Isaacs
PharmD ’09
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Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCPS, BC-ADM, BCACP, CDCES, FADCES, FCCP, is an endocrinology clinical pharmacy specialist and co-director of the Center for Endocrine Disorders in Pregnancy at the Cleveland Clinic. Isaacs holds board certifications in pharmacotherapy, ambulatory care and advanced diabetes management. She advocates for choice and access to the latest technologies and therapeutics for all people with diabetes and speaks on diabetes-related topics nationally and internationally. Isaacs has served in numerous leadership and committee roles in pharmacy and diabetes organizations throughout her career. She is a member of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Professional Practice Committee, which updates the ADA Standards of Care. She is also a fellow and national board member of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists and was named the organization’s 2020 Diabetes Care and Education Specialist of the Year. In 2019, Isaacs earned the Ohio Pharmacists Association’s UNDER 40 Recognition Award.
Graduate School
Senator Christopher Belt
Master of Public Administration ’02
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State Senator Christopher Belt, a lifelong Metro East resident, represents Illinois’ 57th Senate District, which encompasses communities in St. Clair and Madison counties. Prior to serving in the Illinois Senate, Belt spent 16 years as a law enforcement officer with the St. Clair County Probation and Detention Center and two years as the regional deputy administrator of Aftercare for the central and southern regions of Illinois. Belt recognizes education is vital to the development of young people. He founded the Difference Makers Professional Organization in 2003, which is dedicated to strengthening the decision-making capabilities of young men between the ages of 9 and 18. Belt also served on the Cahokia Unit School District 187 Board of Education for four years, including two years as Board president, and is chair of the Senate Education Committee.
