President's Award
2011 Recipient

David Hein '77

Dr. David Hein, who graduated in 1977 with a degree in chemistry, will receive the President's Award, which recognizes outstanding professional and personal achievements and service to UW-Eau Claire.
Hein holds numerous titles at the University of Louisville, including the Peter K. Knoefel Endowed Chair, professor and chair of the department of pharmacology and toxicology, associate university provost for strategic planning, Distinguished University Scholar and director of the Environmental Health Sciences Training Program.
Hein has done exemplary work in the field of pharmacogenetics of drug and carcinogen metabolism, medical education and related areas. He has published more than 200 scholarly articles, as well as 500 abstracts and communications on his research findings. He has guided the work of about 40 master's, doctoral and postdoctoral students. He has worked to advance the opportunities for minority students and in professional societies relevant to his research.
Hein's research in molecular epidemiology helps identify people genetically susceptible to developing cancer from environmental and occupational chemicals, which allows for focus on treatment and prevention public health strategies for those at greatest risk, Hein said of his research. His work in pharmacogenetics/genomics and personalized medicine improves understanding of the genetic causes for drug failure, which helps optimize clinical drug therapy for individual patients, Hein said. His research in functional genomics improves the understanding of the consequences of genetic variation in the biotransformation of carcinogens and drugs. Hein also has been involved in research that focuses on enhancing training opportunities in environmental health sciences and cancer education.

Todd Herbert '80

Todd Herbert, who graduated in 1980 with a degree in education, will receive the President's Award, which recognizes outstanding professional and personal achievements and service to UW-Eau Claire.

Herbert recently left his position of director of the Learning Path Strategy within the division of Field Training and Development for Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee to spend more time working with community and school groups.
Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual in 2007, Herbert held leadership positions in the areas of training and development at several companies in Wisconsin and Illinois. He began his career as a special education teacher in Fox Point-Bayside schools.
His five years as director of Jefferson Wells University in Brookfield — part of Jefferson Wells International, a unit of Manpower — is among the professional accomplishments of which he is most proud, Herbert said.
"Up until this point, it has been the most significant opportunity and most rewarding challenge I have faced professionally," Herbert said of his work for Jefferson Wells. "In short, my team was responsible for building and marketing Jefferson Wells University, a virtual corporate university organized to rapidly meet the developmental needs of our professionals and those of our clients. At the time, it was a very unique concept within that industry."
Herbert said the accomplishments he's most proud of and those that are most meaningful are the ones that recognize the efforts of teams he has led.
"I now better appreciate that real success is achieved through collaboration with others who share a common vision but who offer different perspectives, expertise or experiences beyond my own," Herbert said. "I have come to value having an open mind and heart as they help me appreciate the promise in the ideas of others."
The accessibility and openness of UW-Eau Claire's faculty were key to his development as an educator and helped define the professional he has become, Herbert said. Dr. Lloyd Joyal, professor emeritus of education, and Randy Wilber, a former assistant cross-country and track coach and UW-Eau Claire graduate, were especially influential, he said.
"These two men, among others I met while at UW-Eau Claire, underscored that as a lifelong educator it is not what I design or deliver that is important," Herbert said. "Rather, it is that I focus on the needs of the individual to ensure any learning opportunity supports a person's long-term growth and success."

View the list of past recipients of this award.