The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association honored its 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients on Sept. 22 at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center in Stillwater. The award is presented to alumni for professional achievement and community service. This year’s recipients are:

Dr. Teravuti Boonyasopon graduated with his Ed.D. from OSU in 1983. He is chairman of the Thai-French Innovation Center at King Mongkut’s Institution of Technology in North Bangkok.

In 1977, Boonyasopon joined the center as a lecturer. Later, he took three years of doctoral study at OSU. After returning to Thailand in 1983, Boonyasopon became head of the Graduate Study Division before working his way up to dean, director, vice president, and now institution president.

Boonyasopon has received several awards and honors, including Outstanding Thailand Vocational Educator of the Year, Outstanding University President of Thailand, the Prime Minister’s Award for Best Academic Management and Development of Thai Universities, and Officer in the French Ordre National du Merite by declaration of the President of the Republic of France.

Boonyasopon remains connected with the OSU community through the Alumni Association and his former professors. He frequently returns to the campus to speak with OSU Thai Student Association members and visit former professors and friends. He also recommends OSU to individuals wishing to study abroad and hosts visiting OSU administrators, professors, students and OSU alumni in Bangkok. He was influential in establishing the Thai-OSU alumni chapter and has recently been helping to develop a database of OSU Thai graduates so they may remain connected to their alma mater.

The OSU spirit was passed down to his daughter, Ink, who recently received her master’s degree in Stillwater.

Rhonda Hooper graduated from OSU in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, emphasizing advertising. She is president/CEO of Jordan Associates, one of the Southwest's leading full-service advertising/communications agencies.

Hooper began her professional career with Ackerman & McQueen, working in the creative and account service departments. She moved to the client side as advertising director for Technical Oil Tool Corporation and joined Jordan Associates in 1986.

Hooper serves on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Advertising Agencies, has served on the AAAA Executive Leadership Council, is in the current Leadership Oklahoma XXI class, and is a Leadership OKC, Class XII alumnus.

While a student at OSU, Hooper was an SGA senator, on the Mortar Board, and a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. She was honored as an OSU Top Ten Senior and Redskin Congratulate. In 2002, Hooper was chosen as an Outstanding Alumna in the College of Arts and Sciences and remains active with her alma mater by serving OSU in many capacities. She is a member of the OSU Alumni Association Leadership Council, the OSU-OKC President’s Advisory Board, and a previous OSU Foundation Board member. She has also served on various search committees. Hooper is also a past national president of the OSU Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Hooper contributes to her community by currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and as vice chairman of the OKC Convention and Visitors Commission. She also serves on the boards of the OKC Boathouse Foundation and YMCA and assisted in founding the Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Center. Hooper is also on the OK Centennial Horse Show Board and an American Morgan Horse Association member.

Donald D. Humphreys, a Tulsa native, earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management from OSU in 1971.

After graduation, Humphreys served in the Army before obtaining his M.B.A. at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Then, in 1976, he began a long and distinguished career at ExxonMobil. Throughout his years there, Humphreys has managed a variety of responsibilities. He started as a systems analyst, and after assignments in Texas and Louisiana, he transferred to corporate headquarters in New York as a senior financial advisor. Following numerous increases in responsibility, Humphreys was elected senior vice president and treasurer of the Exxon Mobil Corporation in 2006.

Humphreys is a member of Financial Executives International, the American Petroleum Institute and the Conference Board’s Council of Financial Executives. He recently served on the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council.

Humphreys remains active and connected to his alma mater by serving on the Board of Governors for the OSU Foundation. He will be inducted into the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame in November 2007.

He and his wife of 37 years, Cathey, have three daughters: Megan, Melissa and Mary.

Gene R. Nichol received the highest honors with his philosophy degree from OSU in 1973 and obtained his J.D. in 1976 from the University of Texas. He serves as president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

In 1976, he worked as an attorney for Ely, Guess and Rudd Law Firm, then became active in educating youth as a professor at West Virginia University. Nichol spent a few years as a political writer and, in 2001, returned to the university setting. He taught at various universities nationwide and served as Dean of the University of North Carolina and the University of Colorado law schools.

In 2003, Nichol won the American Bar Association’s Edward R. Finch Award. He has also been elected into the American Law Institute, the American Bar Foundation Fellows and was named the Outstanding Law School Dean of the Year by Equal Justice Works.

This former OSU varsity football player has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus in the College of Arts and Sciences.

He and his wife, Glenn, have three children: Jesse, Jennifer and Soren.

Nichol speaks highly about his experiences at OSU and how those opportunities influenced and prepared him for his career path.

Don Peters received his bachelor’s degree in soils from the Agronomy Department at Oklahoma A&M in 1951. He spent his career with Phillips Petroleum Co. and subsidiaries, retiring after 49 years, 43 of which were in plastics. Peters was the principal engineer of Blow Molding at Phillips Chemical Company.

Peters is the inventor and/or co-inventor of 36 patents. His most well-known inventions involve moving sections to blow mold irregularly shaped parts, such as one-piece lids and handles of water coolers that people use daily. Peters also worked extensively with Phillips customers, helping develop new products and providing technical service.

Peters was elected into the International Plastics Academy's prestigious Hall of Fame and is one of 36 living members. He has been awarded three Lifetime Achievement Awards for his career accomplishments. He has authored and presented many technical papers and conducted seminars worldwide. Peters is a Society of Plastics Engineers member, a “Fellow” of the SPE and an Engineer Fellow Emeritus of Phillips.

Peters served in the 38th Infantry Division Battalion Medical Detachment during WWII. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with a Bronze Star, three Overseas Service Bars and other honorable awards for his service.

While at Oklahoma A&M, he was a member of the varsity football team and the Agronomy Club. Peters is a Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Peters and his wife, June, have two children, Scott and Nancy, both graduates of OSU.

Tom Seth Smith graduated with a bachelor’s degree in technical education in 1977. He has held the position of president and CEO of Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma Inc. for 18 years.

Smith also serves as chairman of REI New Markets Investment LLC, which offers federal and state tax credit programs.

A recent study by the Economic Impact Group of REI’s impact over the past 25 years reported that REI has contributed more than $1 billion in Oklahoma output, $350 million in labor income and created more than 9,800 jobs.

Smith has held various leadership roles in the economic development field. He worked with Red Ark Development Authority and was the Assistant for economic development for Congressman Wes Watkins in Washington, D.C.

Smith was elected to the Southern Economic Development Council and served as president. He received the Rural Leadership Award at the National Rural Economic Development Association Convention and is a member of the Governor’s Economic Development Team and the International Economic Development Team. He contributes to his community as a member of the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors and actively participates in economic development programs locally and throughout the state.

Smith has provided opportunities and resources for OSU students as a guest lecturer and by implementing a partnership between OSU and REI.

Smith and his wife, Cynthia, have six children: Paxton, Zach, Jacob, Chris, Gabe and Noah.