2019 A&S Hall of Fame
2019 College of Arts & Sciences 20th Anniversary Hall of Fame Ceremony
2019 Hall of Fame Photos
2019 Alumni Inductees
Anne C. Deaton, English '67
Anne Concetta Simonetti Deaton grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in a predominantly Italian neighborhood, grounded in the love and importance of family as central to one’s happiness. She cherishes close ties with her four adult children, their spouses, seven grandchildren, her husband, Brady, of 52 years, and a great extended family.
In Brooklyn, Deaton likely would not have attended college, but her father’s employment with IBM and a move to Lexington at 13 changed everything. After attending Lexington Catholic, Anne entered UK A&S and devoured her courses, especially those in her major (English) and minor (History). She enthusiastically joined extracurricular activities, such as the English Club, the Education Club, the Cosmopolitan Club,and the International YMCA. She also served as an Appalachian Volunteer. UK’s International YMCA program also offered Deaton a summer’s service-learning experience in Ecuador where she met her husband. Deaton graduated in 1967 earning Phi Beta Kappa honors and a teaching certificate.
Deaton earned an M.A. in adult education at the University of Tennessee and an Ed.D. in Adult Education and Aging at Virginia Tech. Her career focused on the socio-economic, health, and public policy issues related to seniors and lead to a faculty appointment at the University of Missouri, service as Deputy Director of Missouri’s Division of Aging and Director of the Missouri Division of Developmental Disabilities. After Brady became MU’s Chancellor, Deaton devoted full-time to the university.
Today, the Deatons reside in Columbia, Mo., and Blacksburg, Va. In Columbia, Deaton co- founded the Children’s Grove, a 501c-3 organization devoted to promoting a culture of kindness and supporting the health of children and young people through community education, the arts, and the environment.
Dr. Gerald L. Smith, History ’81, ’83, ’88
Gerald L. Smith was born in Lexington, Ky. He is a graduate of Henry Clay High School and attended the University of Kentucky as an undergraduate and graduate student from 1977-1988. He received his B.A. (1981), M.A. (1983), and Ph.D. (1988) degrees in history. During his time as a student at UK, he served as Polemarch (President) of the undergraduate chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and as secretary of the Black Student Union. He was also a disc jockey for the Graduate and Professional Students Association radio program “Rhapsody in Black.”
Smith taught at Memphis State University from 1988-1993 and returned to UK in 1993 as an associate professor. From 1997-2005, he served as director of the African American Studies and Research Program. He is currently a full professor of history and former Theodore A. Hallam Professor and Martin Luther King Center Scholar-in-Residence. Smith is the author, editor, or co-editor of four books and has more than 40 articles, essays, and book reviews published in historical journals and encyclopedias. He is co-editor of the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia, which received the Thomas D. Clark Medallion Book Award. He has appeared in historical documentaries on CBS, NBC, KET, the CBS Sports Network, and TruTV.
Smith is the former chair of the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission. His awards include: induction into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars of Morehouse College and the Evelyn Black Award from the UK Black Student Union; the 2013 UK Great Teacher Award; and the Charles W. Anderson Laureate Medal Award. He was also named a recipient of the Living Legacy Award by the Kentucky Black Legislative Caucus; Outstanding Professor by Fraternity and Sorority Life at UK; University of Kentucky Inclusive Excellence Award; and the College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Service and Engagement Award.
Smith is also the Pastor of the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky., and is married to the former Teresa Turner. They are the parents of two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah.
Stephen B. Sullivan, Geology ’79, ’83
Steve Sullivan graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in geology in 1978 and a Master of Science in geology in 1983. His professional career began in 1979 in Lexington and focused on environmental and water resources consulting. Partnering with the transportation engineering, planning and construction management firm Schimpler- Corradino in 1989, he founded a Louisville- based environmental consulting firm which merged into The Corradino Group in 1997. Sullivan served as Chief Financial Officer of the merged entity until his retirement in 2014.
During his professional career, Sullivan worked on several projects of lasting impact to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. These include the waste-water approval process that paved the way for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky; the environmental documentation needed to approve construction for Yatesville Lake in eastern Kentucky; the redevelopment of the property in Louisville that is now Waterfront Park; the development of the Louisville Slugger Stadium; and the expansion of the Louisville International Airport.
Sullivan has served on the boards of the Kentucky Geological Survey, the Louisville/Jefferson County Air Pollution Control District, the Dean’s Development Council for UK’s College of Arts & Sciences, UK’s Alumni Advisory Board for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the Louisville Waterfront Botanical Garden, the American Cave Conservation Association, and the Kentucky Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists. He also volunteers with TreesLouisville, Inc., in their efforts to enhance Louisville’s tree canopy.
In 1983, Sullivan married Cindi Higgins, an alumna of UK’s College of Agriculture. They reside in Louisville and have two children, Stephanie and Bradley, a French bulldog, Beauregard, and a pug, Josephine.
Robert N. Trunzo, Political Science ’78
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Robert (Bob) N. Trunzo earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Kentucky in 1978 and a law degree from Marquette University in 1981. He completed the Kellogg School of Management Executive Program at the Kellogg Management Institute at Northwestern University in 2011.
Trunzo became the eighth president and chief executive officer of CUNA Mutual Group on Jan. 1, 2014. The company has $3.5B in annual revenue and is located in Madison, Wisconsin.
Prior to joining CUNA Mutual Group in 2005, Trunzo was one of three executive vice presidents at Frank F. Haack and Associates, which is now part of Willis Group Holdings. He served as secretary of commerce under Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, where he directed the state’s economic development efforts. He also served as chairman of the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park Board of Directors, which oversaw the design, financing and construction of Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers professional baseball club.
Trunzo is an active member of the business community and insurance industry. He was recognized as a 2018 Best of Madison Business honoree for the positive impact both he and CUNA Mutual Group made in the Madison community. Trunzo served as chair of the 2017 United Way of Dane County campaign. Trunzo serves on the board of directors at the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and the Filene Research Institute.
Bob and his wife, Anne, have three children.
2019 Faculty Inductees
Dr. Bradley C. Canon, Department of Political Science
Bradley C. Canon was born in Chicago in 1937. After the war, his family moved to Florida and he grew up in West Palm Beach and Hollywood. Canon graduated from Florida State University where he was editor of the student newspaper. After a couple of years in the Army, he went to graduate school at Wisconsin, earning a Ph.D. in political science.
Canon came to UK in 1966 and retired in 2008. There were many great colleagues in the Department of Political Science over those 42 years, and he loved teaching courses such as “Civil Liberties in the U.S.; The Supreme Court, Constitutional Interpretation and Privacy Law and Issues.” Canon also taught graduate seminars and was the major professor for 12 Ph.D. students. He was engaged in avariety of research projects, but his primary focus was on the impact of court decisions and what happened afterward. A Ford Foundation Fellowship gave Canon a year off to pursue one such study. Later, he co-authored a book on judicial impact, Judicial Policies: Implementation and Impact. He also held administrative positions throughout the years and was department chair twice, chair of the University Senate, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, and Acting Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.
Canon married his wife Rose in 1961 and they have three children, Karen in Albuquerque, Laura in Las Vegas, and Gavin in Lexington.
Dr. Penny Miller, Political Science ’64, ’86, Department of Political Science
A native of Binghamton, New York, Penny Miller attended Wellesley College, married Lexington attorney Robert S. Miller in 1964, and earned her B.A. (1965) and M.A. (1967) in Political Science from the University of Kentucky. As a young woman, she founded the Metro Group Homes and co-chaired Lexington Jewish Women’s Federation. When her children, Jonathan and Jennifer, were nearly grown, she returned to the Department of Political Science to earn her Ph.D. in 1986. After three years teaching at Temple University, she joined the UK faculty in 1990.
A specialist in state politics, she wrote Kentucky Politics and Government: Do We Stand United? and co-authored with Malcolm Jewell, Political Parties and Primaries in Kentucky and The Kentucky Legislature: Two Decades of Change. Governor Jones selected her to edit The Public Papers of Governor Brereton C. Jones 1991-1995. In addition, she served on the Mayor’s Local Government Ethics Advisory Committee, chaired the state’s Commission on Women and chaired the Kentucky Long Term Policy Research Center Board. President Bill Clinton appointed her to serve for eight years on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.
As the Department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies, Miller worked tirelessly to revise and improve the quality of the Department’s undergraduate curriculum, pedagogy, and advising system. She won dozens of awards, including the William E. Lyons Award for Outstanding Service, the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Teaching, the Ken Friedman Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award, the College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award, and the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award.
Bob Miller died in 2002, and Penny Miller later married Louisvillian Stuart Harris. In 2006, Miller moved to Bal Harbour, Fla., with Harris. After Harris' passing in 2018, she moved to Palm Beach Gardens, where she has become involved with the Jewish Women’s Foundation, the Wellesley Book Club, and Women’s Philanthropy of the Palm Beaches. Miller continues to give talks, enjoys travel, and spends quality time with her children and granddaughters, Emily and Abigail Miller.
