The recipients of this year's Outstanding Achievement Awards are quick to credit the Fredonia environment for giving them the opportunities and foundation to be successful in their careers.
Dr. Allan Dennis ’70, ’72, and Dr. Christopher Mirabelli, '77, each turned the spotlight on the Fredonia campus during their acceptance speeches to a crowd of more than 200 people at the gala dinner held in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room. "Thank you for taking a little farm boy and creating an environment for me to grow," said an emotional Dr. Dennis as he choked back tears. "Fredonia gave me the courage to push my ideas, to dream, to set goals, to not make those goals, then pick myself up and go on again," Dennis said. "Fredonia made me feel I could do that."
Dennis has been music director of the Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra, about one hour south of Chicago, for 25 years. He also started the Midwest Young Artist Conservatory in Chicago with just 50 students in 1993. There are now more than 1,000 students enrolled in orchestra, chamber music, jazz, choral, theory/composition, early childhood education and community programs. Dennis has been recognized as the 2001 Music Director of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, as well as awarded the 2001 Heidi Castleman Award by Chamber Music America.
Dennis, who once thought of becoming a country-western singer and bass player, received his undergraduate degree from Fredonia in 1970, and his master's degree in 1972. He went on to study at the Tanglewood Institute and Eastman School of Music, and was later awarded a doctorate, with distinction, from Indiana University.
Dr. Dennis (who was featured in a 2011 article in The Statement) spent time during alumni weekend working with some current Fredonia music students. His message extended well beyond the world of music. "I tried to impart to them that they should dream wildly, and they should dream so high they can't reach them," Dennis said. "Because if they reach them every time, they will become spoiled and they will not change the world. And we all need to change the world."
Dr. Mirabelli spent two years at Fredonia after transferring from a community college. But even though he graduated from Fredonia almost 40 years ago (1977), his influence on the college's science program continues to this day with his contributions to Fredonia's science program. Mirabelli became a pioneer in research and development in groundbreaking pharmaceutical medicine, and as an investor who helps make it possible for those new drugs to reach the market.
Mirabelli (who was featured in the 2015 article in The Statement) told the audience that, while he was a student at Fredonia, he couldn't have anticipated the twists and turns that would happen in his life. "As I looked back on the time I spent here, it's very clear that the education and the experience I received here allowed me to react to those twists and turns in a positive way and really take those opportunities when they came to me. For that, I am extremely grateful," Mirabelli said.
"It's occasions like this that shows it's as much about the institution as it is about the individual being honored, because it's an indication of what schools like Fredonia can do and the immense impact they can have on people's lives," Mirabelli concluded.
In addition to the honorees, President Horvath and interim Vice President for University Advancement Betty Gossett acknowledged the 17 benefactors who made gifts through the Fredonia College Foundation to create endowments for programming and scholarships in exchange for named spaces in the newly renovated Rockefeller Arts Center and studio complex.
