University of Detroit Mercy's College of Liberal Arts & Education hosted its third annual Hall of Honor Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 30. The luncheon and ceremony, held at the Detroit Golf Club, recognized the civic and professional achievements of seven individuals, who also give back their valuable time and resources to the University in many different ways. Plaques honoring the individuals below, as well as past Hall of Honor awardees, hang in a specially designated area of the Jane and Walter Briggs Building.

Back row, left to right: Peter Neydon, Michael Ware, Robert Scullin, S.J., UDM President Antoine Garibaldi, Fr. Jim O’Neill, C.S.B., who accepted the Hall of Honor award on behalf of The Most Rev. Ricardo Ramirez, C.S.B., Charles Lucas, M.D., CLAE Interim Dean Roy Finkenbine. Front row, left to right: Geraldine O'Grady-Pershing, Juantavia Byrd, a UDM freshman who is the first recipient of the Beulah Alexander Memorial Scholarship, who accepted the Hall of Honor award on behalf of Mrs. Bradley N. Crawford.

Mrs. Bradley N. Crawford '65
Social Worker, Community Activist and Philanthropist

Mrs. Bradley N. Crawford ’65, is a caring, sharing person, who is making a wonderful difference in the lives of others.  She comes from a family of 13 biological siblings, plus one adoptive sibling, and a home where her mother taught her that the value of good fortune is having the ability to care and share with humility. More on Hall of Honor site

Charles E. Lucas, M.D. '59
Professor of Surgery, Wayne State University

Dr. Charles E. Lucas ’59, is a native Detroiter who earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Detroit and his Doctor of Medicine degree from Wayne State University. His work in the fields of shock, trauma, acute care surgery, and sepsis is extensive. Together with his longtime business partner Dr. Ledgerwood, they have written more than 350 articles in surgical literature, most of which have included residents from the Detroit area in their many important discoveries in the field of surgery.  Dr. Lucas performed the first randomized prospective study in trauma, and his work includes one of the most-cited articles in the surgical literature. More on Hall of Honor site

Peter B. Neydon '65
President, USF Holland (Retired)

Peter Neydon ’65, has a sense of ownership and pride in the education taking place in the classrooms and labs, the action on the basketball court and sports fields, and the socializing among students on the University of Detroit Mercy’s McNichols Campus. He says it brings back fond memories of the time when he was a student at U of D in the mid-1960s and also elicits a proud family history. More on Hall of Honor site

Geraldine A. O'Grady-Pershing '55
Educator, Community Activist, Philanthropist

Gerry O’Grady-Pershing ’55, has devoted her life, and her energies, to the field of education and to making her community a better place.

O’Grady-Pershing earned a B.S. in Education from the University of Detroit. As a student, she was in the chorus, Psychology Club, Gamma Phi Sigma sorority, and Pan-Hellenic Council and served as president for the latter two organizations. She also holds a master’s from the University of Michigan and has taken several additional classes at various universities in Michigan as well as the University of Mexico. More on Hall of Honor site

The Most Rev. Ricardo Ramirez, C.S.B. '68
Bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico

Bishop Ramirez ’68, was born in Bay City, Texas, on Sept. 12, 1936. The second of two sons, he was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 10, 1966 in Houston, Texas. He is a member of the Congregation of St. Basil. On Oct. 18, 1982, he became the first Bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces, N.M. Next year, he will celebrate three decades in that role. More on Hall of Honor site

Rev. Robert J. Scullin, S.J. '68
Former Provincial, Detroit Province Society of Jesus

Robert J. Scullin, S.J. ’68, was born the third of four children to James Andrew Scullin and Margaret Mary Mills in Detroit, Mich. in 1946. He has two older sisters, Judy Skelley in Saginaw, Mich., and Nancy Janness in Dallas, Texas. His younger brother Michael died in 2008. He was educated by the Sisters of Charity (Cincinnati) at the Shrine of the Little Flower Elementary School and by the Jesuits at the University of Detroit High School. More on Hall of Honor site

Michael D. Ware '67
Managing Director, Advance Capital Markets

Michael Ware ’67, has had an outstanding 35- year career in the energy business.  Over the past 12 years, he has focused on investments in renewable energy. He is the founder and managing director of Advance Capital Markets, Inc., a private investment and advisory firm with a very successful track record in the energy and power industries. Ware has served as an advisor to private equity funds, international energy firms, independent power companies, electric utilities, as well as a number of other successful entrepreneurial enterprises. More on Hall of Honor site