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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will honor eight remarkable graduates at the 2018 SIUE Alumni Hall of Fame ceremony, “A Night Among the Stars,” on Friday, Sept. 28 in the Morris University Center. The impressive alumni have made exceptional contributions in their chosen fields, in their communities and at SIUE through their leadership, character and hard work.

A cocktail reception in the Meridian Ballroom will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and an awards presentation at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online at siue.edu/alumni/hall-of-fame.  Complimentary valet parking will be available in Lot C.

“Those selected for the Alumni Hall of Fame represent the best of SIUE,” said Alan Kehrer, SIUE Alumni Association president. “It is our honor to induct these outstanding individuals.”

The 2018 honorees listed by their college or school:

School of Business: Tania Seger, BS Accountancy ’87, MBA ’96

Seger is vice president and chief financial officer for Monsanto’s North America commercial business unit covering business analysis and long-range planning, credit, and manufacturing for the U.S., Canada and Latin America North. She has held multiple finance roles at Monsanto in both U.S. Commercial and Technology. Prior to joining Monsanto in 2008, she worked for Solutia as manager of corporate planning and analysis, and for Ameritech Mobile Communications where she held various roles, including director of corporate operations.Seger is also a certified public accountant and a member of the St. Louis Federal Reserve’s Agribusiness Industry Council. She is an active SIUE School of Business alumna providing presentations on career development and participating in industry networking events for students.

College of Arts & Sciences: The Honorable David R. Herndon, BA Government ’74

Herndon, district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, was confirmed by the Senate on Oct. 21, 1998. His federal tenure followed seven years as an associate judge in the Third Judicial Circuit of Madison County. Prior to that, Herndon worked as a trial attorney, specializing in plaintiff’s personal injury cases, with an emphasis on Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) litigation, for 14 years. An undergraduate degree from SIUE preceded his law degree from SIUC in 1977. Herndon served as chief judge from October 2007 through September 2014 and currently serves as chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Security. He was a 2017 inductee in the Trial Lawyers’ Hall of Fame.

College of Arts & Sciences: Dr. Roderick Nunn, BM Jazz Performance ’93

Nunn serves as executive vice president, head of education and employment for the Concordance Academy of Leadership, a national organization leading the way in reducing recidivism for returning citizens. Before joining the Academy, he served as president of St. Louis Community College-Forest Park, and vice chancellor of economic development and workforce solutions. Under Nunn’s leadership, the college won several national, state, and local awards for excellence and innovation in workforce development. He also led workforce development for three governors in Missouri and Illinois. He serves as an adjunct professor in the doctor of management program at the University of Maryland University College.

SIU School of Dental Medicine: Dr. Patricia “Tish” Nihill, DMD ’82

Nihill served as a faculty member in the School of Dental Medicine from 1984-2000. During that time, she completed the gerontology certificate program at SIU, and earned a prosthodontic certificate and master’s degree at Northwestern University. She has served as a faculty member at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Dentistry and the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, where she served as the division chief of comprehensive care until her retirement. In retirement, she volunteers at the Chicago Dental Society Foundation clinic in her hometown of Wheaton and teaches part time as an adjunct faculty member at Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois.

School of Education, Health and Human Behavior: Fredna Carlson Scroggins, EdD, Instructional Process ’81

Scroggins devoted 35 years to her career in education. She is retired from St. Louis Community College (STLCC) at Meramec where she was a professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and served as department chair for 10 years. She taught in the teacher education program at Blackburn College, Westminster College in Salt Lake City and Missouri Baptist University, before joining STLCC. She was named to Who’s Who in America’s Teachers, received the Missouri Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Meramec Faculty Lecture Award. She was a member of the District Academic Governance Council, District Education Steering Committee, and the Missouri Commission on the Future of Teaching.

School of Engineering: Angela Heise, BS Computer Science ’96

Heise is president of the civil group at Leidos. She is responsible for providing solutions to U.S. Cabinet-level civil agencies, and major elements of the public and private sector across the globe. Focus areas include air traffic automation, energy and the environment, federal infrastructure and logistics, information technology and cybersecurity, and transportation security. Prior to this role, she served as vice president of commercial markets for Lockheed Martin-Commercial Cyber, where she was responsible for delivery of a portfolio of cybersecurity and information technology solutions and services to commercial Global 1000 customers. She is an alumna of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. She was recently named to Washington Exec’s Top 25 Executives to Watch in 2018.

School of Nursing: Lisa Klaustermeier, BS Nursing ’93, MS Nursing ’01

Klaustermeier serves as the chief nursing officer at Anderson Hospital in Maryville. She began her nursing career at Saint Louis University Hospital, where she quickly moved into a management position and continued there for four years. She then started at Anderson Hospital, where she has been in leadership positions for 20 years, serving as the chief nursing officer since 2009. During her tenure, she has been instrumental in mentoring staff and students, expanding and improving patient care service lines, providing leadership to more than 400 nurses and staff members, and leading performance improvement programs. An adjunct faculty member in SIUE’s School of Nursing, she is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Leaders, American Nurses Association, and Illinois Organization of Nurse Leaders where she served as a regional president. 

Graduate School: James D. Campbell, PhD, BA Sociology ’68, MA Sociology ’70

Campbell earned a doctorate in sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC). He began his career as an instructor in 1970 at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but spent most of his career in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UMC, where he recently retired as emeritus professor. He was a pioneer in developing innovative curricula for medical students that incorporates the social and behavioral sciences. He played a key role in developing and implementing an innovative longitudinal inter-professional experience at UMC, as well as developing videos that are used widely for training in educational institutions and public health departments. He and his wife, Anne, were instrumental in creating the Central Missouri Kidney Association, of which Jim is the president.  

For more information on “A Night Among the Stars” call (618) 650-3630.