Alumni honored for distinguished achievements

Alumni honored for distinguished achievements

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

Four Rice University graduates have been selected to receive the Association of Rice Alumni’s annual Distinguished Alumni Award, presented to alumni whose professional or volunteer activities reflect and forward the high standards and ideals of the university.

Barbara D. Boyan ’70

	BARBARA BOYAN

Barbara D. Boyan has built an extraordinary career in the field of tissue engineering and is recognized internationally as one of the scientific leaders of orthopedic and dental regenerative medicine. Her impressive list of titles includes the Price Gilbert Jr. Chair in Tissue Engineering and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Tissue Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and director of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Laboratory for Craniofacial Plastic Surgery Research. Most recently, Boyan was named the associate dean for research in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. She is a member of virtually every major organization devoted to research in biomaterials, calcium metabolism and orthopedic surgery. Her renown has led to service as the president of the American Association for Dental Research and work with the Food and Drug Administration. Boyan has served on committees and scientific advisory boards of numerous biomedical companies.

She is the author of more than 330 peer-reviewed papers, reviews and book chapters and holds eight U.S. and international patents. In 1993, she co-founded OsteoBiologics Inc. to develop tissue-engineering medical products for treatment of bone and cartilage defects. The first generation of these products is now approved for clinical use both in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, Boyan had a founding role in the creation of Biomedical Development Corp., Orthonics Inc. and SpherIngenics.

One of Boyan’s proudest distinctions is that she has been the major adviser for 11 Ph.D. students, 48 master’s degree students and 22 postdoctoral students, many of whom have gone on to prominent careers. She dedicates time to numerous other students as well, including the nearly 100 undergraduates she teaches each semester in her cell biology course. Boyan also acts in other mentoring capacities, be they official or unofficial, and often serves as the sole female perspective on promotion and tenure decisions at a predominately male technical institution. She has shown boundless enthusiasm, commitment to scientific discovery and devotion to mentoring young scientists. Since earning her B.A., master’s degree and Ph.D. from Rice, Boyan has been a leader in the emerging field of regenerative medicine, an accomplished scientist and a successful entrepreneur and continues to be an outstanding role model in academia for women in science and engineering.

Tom J. Fatjo Jr. ’63

	TOM FATJO

”Tom J. Fatjo Jr. is an entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word,” said Paul J. Sutera, associate athletic director of development at Rice. Fatjo has an unparalleled reputation for recognizing and capitalizing on opportunities. While working as a certified public accountant with Haskins & Sells, now Deloitte & Touche, Fatjo served as the president of his community’s homeowner’s association. The larger community was displeased with their local waste hauling company, so when Fatjo saw that his neighbors’ needs were not being met, he was inspired to establish the waste company Browning Ferris Industries. What started with one truck in Houston became a $6 billion revenue company that eventually sold for $10 billion to Allied Waste in 1999. This entrepreneurial venture was only the beginning of a thriving career.

Possessing a love for business and fitness, Fatjo was a two-year letterman in golf while he worked toward his B.A. in economics at Rice. He is responsible for developing the property known as the Houstonian, a $125 million real estate project in Houston that includes a 300-room hotel, a 22-acre fitness and preventive medicine complex and a 155-unit high-rise condominium.

His excellence in the field of fitness led to his 1980 appointment by President Ronald Reagan to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. As a member of the council, he helped to create and develop the President’s Council Physical Fitness Test.

Throughout his career, he has been a major shareholder or founder in many different ventures, including Fannin Bank, American Title Co., Criterion Management, Republic Waste Industries, TransAmerican Waste Industries Inc. and WCA Waste Corp. The total of his successes is staggering. Fatjo has launched more than 20 business ventures and raised more than $750 million in capital.

Fatjo is also the author of the book ”With No Fear of Failure: Capturing Your Dreams through Creative Enterprise.” He is no stranger to dreaming big, and those dreams have catapulted him to numerous personal and professional successes.

Nick C. Nichols ’57

	NICK NICHOLS

Nick C. Nichols is the senior partner in the law firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels & Friend. He attended Rice University on a basketball scholarship and received his B.A. in 1958. He then attended The University of Texas at Austin School of Law and has practiced in Houston since 1963.

His courtroom successes as a civil trial litigator and the esteem in which he is held by the legal profession have led to invitations to join the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers and The Inner Circle of Advocates. He has been listed consistently in Woodward White’s ”The Best Lawyers in America.” Nichols received the Southern Trial Lawyers Association War Horse Award in 2003 in recognition of his outstanding professional accomplishments. He has been an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law and a frequent lecturer at law schools, legal seminars and Rice. Nichols is a Keeton Fellow at the UT School of Law, where the Nick Nichols Endowed Presidential Scholarship has been established. Rice Athletics is the beneficiary of the Nick and Linda Nichols Men’s Basketball Scholarship Endowment.

One of Nichols’ noteworthy victories resulted from a case known as ”The Punch,” which involved the serious injury to Houston Rockets forward Rudy Tomjanovich, a victim of a vicious punch thrown by an opposing player during a game in 1977. This case resulted in a substantial judgment and had a profound effect on professional basketball and sports law. The NBA responded with important safeguards to discourage recurrences of such misconduct, and the precedents set by this case provide the opportunity for redress for future victims.

William Powers Jr., former dean of the UT School of Law and current president of the university, said, ”I have seen firsthand not only Nick’s remarkable professional skills as a practicing trial lawyer, but his exemplary commitment to his community. He has given back many times over with his time and expertise, as well as his treasure, to the universities that have given him so much. Nick is a worthy exemplar of the men and women who are proud to be Rice alumni.” 

Sam K. Reed ’70

	SAM REED

Sam K. Reed’s prominent career in the packaged foods industry is one that earned him a reputation for strong ethics, innovation and a vast knowledge of the trade. It comes as no surprise to colleagues that he would be considered a distinguished alumnus of Rice University.

Reed graduated from Rice in 1970 with a B.A. and earned his MBA from Stanford in 1972. He began his career in 1974 in the San Francisco Bay Area at Oroweat Foods Co. and held leadership positions at Murray Baking Products, Wyndham Bakery Products and Mother’s Cake and Cookie Co. He was also chief executive of Specialty Food Corp.’s Western Bakery Group unit.

From January 1996 to March 2001, Reed served as Keebler Foods Co.’s president, chief executive officer and director. The industry veteran was credited with a positive turnaround for the company during that time. He led the acquisition and leveraged buyout of Keebler in 1996 in conjunction with a private equity sponsor and strategic partner. The company was taken public in 1998 and sold to Kellogg’s three years later. Reed was appointed vice chairman of Kellogg’s and oversaw the integration of Kellogg’s and Keebler from March 2001 to April 2002.

Reed later founded TreeHouse LLC, which was formed to explore investment opportunities in consumer packaged-goods businesses. Reed is currently the chairman of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods Inc., a company unrelated to TreeHouse LLC, where he has been the chief executive officer since January 2005. Reed also served on the Weight Watchers International Board of Directors and as a director of Tractor Supply Co., the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the U.S.

He and his wife, Victoria Pearson Reed ’69, are the co-trustees of the Sam and Victoria Reed Family Foundation with their two sons, Sam Henry and Daniel Martin Reed.

An outstanding role model for those who aspire to be successful in business, Reed is a tremendous credit to Rice. He has shown exceptional expertise and dedication, two of the criteria for the Distinguished Alumni Award, over and over again in more than three decades of service to his chosen industry.