Wittenberg alumni make an impact in everything they do, both in their careers and in their communities. Every year, the Wittenberg University Alumni Association recognizes excellence among its more than 26,000 alumni members. This year is no exception, as six individuals will be honored with special distinctions at the Alumni Achievement Awards ceremony from 7 to 9 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2, in Ness Auditorium, inside Hollenbeck Hall. The annual event is one of the many special traditions during Homecoming, Reunion, and Family Weekend, Oct. 1-4.
This year’s program will be emceed by Alumni Association Board President Stephanie Morgan-White, class of 1992, who will provide the welcome and opening remarks. Matevia University Pastor Rev. Dr. Nathan Esala will deliver the blessing, followed by heavy hors d’oeuvres and the presentation of the awards. President Christian M.M. Brady will provide closing remarks.
To view this year’s Homecoming, Reunion, and Family Weekend events or to register, click here.
Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching
First to be honored during the Alumni Achievement Awards banquet will be longtime educational leader Richard Phillips, Ph.D., associate professor of biology and director of the University’s environmental science program, as well as the 2026 recipient of the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching, the top faculty prize at Wittenberg. The award recognizes the superior classroom teaching that takes place at Wittenberg. Phillips learned that he was the recipient during Wittenberg’s annual Honors Convocation last spring.
Phillips, who also presented the keynote address at this year’s Opening Convocation, part of the 2026-27 Wittenberg Series, teaches classes in environmental science and ecology and serves as the director of the first-year research (FYRA) program. He is a wildlife ecologist with a particular interest in the dispersal of organisms across landscapes. He holds a B.A. in biology from Emory University and a M.S. and Ph.D. from Texas Tech University in Wildlife Science. Phillips has also conducted research on wild turkeys, Mexican wolves, and montane rattlesnakes, just to name a few. Since he arrived at Wittenberg, he and his students have studied birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
Phillips’ lab is currently working with various stakeholders to determine the presence of Kirtland’s snakes and Spotted turtles at various locations in Clark County. Both species are difficult to detect, and, as such, their population status is of concern at the local, state, and federal levels. Although the short-term goal of his lab is to provide population estimates for local inhabitants, longer-term goals are to provide managers with conditions and protocols that maximize the likelihood that these species are detected if they are in fact present at a location. In addition to these primary projects, students are investigating small mammal population dynamics, monitoring nest boxes, and studying the movement patterns of box turtles in urban parks.
Before joining Wittenberg in 2009, Phillips studied wild turkey dispersal patterns in the Texas Panhandle while a graduate student at Texas Tech University, where he also started teaching in 2004 under the tutelage of two professors, Dr. Mark Wallace and Dr. Warren Ballard. Phillips soon found out that Springfield, Ohio, is a little different than Lubbock, Texas.
Phillips, who enjoys traveling, birding, photography, and biking, currently spends a good deal of his time with his husband, Josh, tending to a small plot of land in Champaign County. The couple has three teenage children, two dogs, and two “narcissistic” cats.
“Pass It On” Wittenberg Volunteer Service Award
The “Pass It On” Wittenberg Volunteer Service Award, given in recognition of exceptional demonstration of the University motto “Having Light We Pass It On To Others,” will be presented to Scott Strawn, class of 1976.
Growing up in Canton, Ohio, not far from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Strawn enrolled at Wittenberg in the fall of 1972 when Wittenberg was on a quarter system. He earned a degree in business administration with an accounting emphasis and began his career with Big Eight firm Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co. in Cleveland, Ohio. After obtaining his CPA designation, he entered the corporate world and joined Reliance Electric, which was acquired by Rockwell Automation in 1994. He served in various financial positions before leaving as Division Controller of their Motor Service Centers, then later established a small tax practice, serving individuals and small businesses.
Strawn married Carol Pfeifer, Wittenberg class of 1975, 10 weeks after his graduation, and they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past summer. This Homecoming, he will celebrate his 50th reunion with classmates and friends.
The Strawn’s son, John, enrolled at Wittenberg in August 2003, becoming the 25th member of the family and the first in the fourth generation to attend Wittenberg. This led to Scott and Carol serving on the Parents' Executive Committee during John's four years at Wittenberg before his graduation in 2007. Scott was later asked to join the Wittenberg Alumni Board, which he served from 2010 to 2019. Then in 2011, Scott was asked to join the Athletics Hall of Honor Selection Committee, which he has served as Chairman since 2018.
Active as a scout leader for Troop 504 in Solon, Ohio, where his son John earned his Eagle Scout Award, joining his dad and other family members in achieving this distinction, Strawn was a board member of the Lake Erie Council for over a decade, was selected for the Silver Beaver Award, and served as a Wood Badge course director. He fondly remembers two trips to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico with John.
A member of Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Chagrin Falls, Strawn has served on his church council and was a founding board member of its preschool. The church has many members who are Wittenberg grads, including nine in the last 20 years.
Servant Leader Award
This year’s Servant Leader Award, bestowed upon alumni who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service, goes to Tracey Tackett, class of 2022.
Tackett is a lifelong Springfield, Ohio, resident who has spent nearly her entire adult life finding ways to serve the community she calls home. Her involvement began at age 22, and she has never stopped looking for ways to turn the things she believes in into action. Her path into government began through advocacy. For years, she traveled to Washington, D.C., and the Ohio State House advocating for people experiencing health disparities and making sure their voices were heard.
Over the years, Tackett has served on numerous boards, committees, and community organizations, including the Springfield Arts Council, Springfield Chamber of Commerce as an ambassador, the Epilepsy Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. She is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Clark County and will continue her leadership journey as a member of the upcoming Leadership Ohio Class of 2028.
Tackett has also created opportunities to bring her community together. She founded the Clark County International Women’s Day Celebration because she believes women shouldn’t have to ask for a seat at the table—they should have one because they belong there in the first place. She founded the Community Downtown Trick-or-Treat, which brings thousands of people into downtown Springfield annually.
For approximately 12 years, Tackett has owned and operated Sip & Dipity, a small business she fought to keep going through the COVID-19 pandemic. She knows firsthand the resilience and determination it takes to keep a business and a dream alive. Then came 2019, when Tackett lost her daughter, Morgan. In the years that followed, she returned to school while grieving, running her business through a pandemic, and trying to find her way forward. As the first person in her family to graduate from college, she knew returning to school was significant. She also knew where she wanted to go: Wittenberg.
Wittenberg became much more than a University. It became a place of healing. Those years gave Tackett something she didn’t realize she was building at the time: grit, stamina, and tenacity. She graduated from Wittenberg with honors in organizational leadership in 2022 and continued her education by obtaining a master’s degree in public policy and leadership from The Ohio State University in 2024, the same year she was elected as a Springfield City commissioner. Today, she serves as Assistant Mayor of Springfield. She also serves as Development Manager at Glen Helen Nature Preserve and, in 2026, became an independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, carrying her belief in ‘People Over Politics’ onto a larger stage. Through every chapter, her husband, Mike, and her son, Mason, have been her foundation. Her daughter Morgan remains forever part of her heart and a reminder to live with meaning and purpose.
Outstanding Young Alumnus
This year’s Outstanding Young Alumnus award, which recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through outstanding accomplishments in their professional careers, impressive volunteer service, and/or noteworthy involvement in professional and/or service organizations, all since graduating within the last 15 years, goes to Taylor Yontz Campbell, class of 2020.
Born and raised in Springfield, Ohio, she attended Shawnee High School. During the college search process, she was drawn to Wittenberg because of its close-knit academic community and the competitive volleyball program. She chose to attend Wittenberg to continue her volleyball career and major in math.
During her time at Wittenberg, she was a captain and All-American on the volleyball team, president of Athletes in Action, manager of the Math Workshop, vice president of Academic Excellence in Sigma Kappa, and a member of various academic honor societies. The relationships she built during her time at her alma mater are still some of her closest to this day.
After graduation, Campbell began working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a program manager. On base, she has held multiple roles, including in Foreign Military Sales, supporting NATO partners, and presently in the Commander’s Action Group for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Since 2022, she has been a volunteer assistant for Wittenberg’s Women’s Volleyball team, where she helps coach the liberos. She and her husband live in Springfield and enjoy trying new local restaurants, spoiling their dog Arlo, and, of course, supporting all things Witt. Tiger Up!
Professional Achievement Award
This year’s Professional Achievement Award, presented to Wittenberg University alumni who have achieved outstanding distinction in their field, goes to Todd Sweda, Ph.D., class of 1988.
Sweda is a lifelong educator in Catholic education on the local, regional, and national levels. His career service includes roles as an instructor, advisor, dean of students, academic dean, advancement officer, middle school principal, associate head of school, high school president, university instructor, and superintendent.
Sweda is currently a member of the leadership team for the Institute for the Transformation of Catholic Education (ITCE) at The Catholic University of America, where he engages in school accreditation, strategic planning, teacher and leadership formation, and research, all in support of Catholic schools nationwide. In addition to creating and launching the institute’s programs for board development, he teamed with colleagues to research early learning indicators of best practice and guidelines for school certification in the STEM areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Prior to joining ITCE, Sweda served as superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, where his team collaborated with school leaders, government officials, and health officers to successfully navigate the continuity of learning throughout the Covid-19 pandemic on behalf of more than 100 schools. Over time, he instituted stronger models of governance, provided critical training in strategic planning, advancement, and enrollment management, and guided schools in helping them find clearer alignment with their missions for long-term success. Sweda was recognized at the conclusion of his tenure with the Father Pierre De Smet Award for Distinguished Service.
Prior to his role in St. Louis, he served as president of Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron, Ohio, at which time his team led the largest fundraising campaign in school history for major capital improvements and increased endowment funds. He also held teaching and administrative appointments at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio, and at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland.
His volunteer service includes membership on school evaluation teams, religious-order sponsorship reviews, and K-12 school boards/councils. He co-founded the Central Southern Catholic School Superintendents Association to encourage more effective communication and collaboration throughout the region.
A nationally recognized expert in issues of school governance, Sweda currently volunteers on the steering committee for the Virtual Board Development Series for Catholic Schools. He presents at national conferences and conducts board formation and training across the country. His university doctoral teaching at Saint Louis University focuses on the operational vitality areas of business affairs, human resources, facilities, advancement, marketing, and communications.
Alumna of the Year
The Alumna of the Year is the most prestigious recognition bestowed upon alumni. The award celebrates alumni who have attained a significant level of achievement in their chosen field, impacted their local communities with integrity and character, and demonstrated a continued commitment to Wittenberg. This year’s recipient is Indira G. Wilson, class of 1995.
Wilson is an award-winning writer, producer, and actress whose creative work spans stage, screen, and sketch comedy. With a background rooted in performance and storytelling, Wilson is best known for her three seasons as Captain Grace Watkins on the hit CBS drama The Equalizer, starring Queen Latifah, Adam Goldberg, and Tory Kittles. She also recurred as Shirley Maxwell on the Apple series Truth Be Told starring Octavia Spencer and Mekhi Phifer. She appeared in the feature film HIM from Universal Pictures — a chilling journey into the inner sanctum of fame, idolatry, and the pursuit of excellence at any cost — from Oscar® winner Jordan Peele and directed by Justin Tipping (Kicks), starring Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, and Julia Fox.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Wilson grew up immersed in a family of performers, storytellers, and part-time clairvoyants. She honed her creative instincts, earning a B.A. in creative writing and theatre from Wittenberg before launching her career on the New York stage — including the 30th anniversary off-Broadway revival of Hair and musical performances with the National Black Theater. Regional theatre highlights include Ain't Misbehavin' (Armelia), Once on This Island (Andrea), and for colored girls - Lady in Blue.
Her stage work soon led to television, debuting on The Chris Rock Show, followed by appearances on The Orlando Jones Show and Everybody Hates Chris, where her sketch comedy chops took center stage. Relocating to Los Angeles at the urging of Marlon Wayans — long story, ask her sometime — Wilson flourished in the city's creative scene. She became a force in sketch comedy, performing with Frog Island Comedy and the all-Black, all-female group Elite Delta Force 3. She co-wrote and produced the theatrical sketch series Baldwin Hills and starred in a series of celebrated short films, including True Grit(s), an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, and The Boots, a winner at both the Tally Shorts and International Black Film Festival.
On screen, Wilson has appeared in over 50 television shows, including Black-ish, Angie Tribeca, Bull, The Grinder, Fuller House, NCIS: Los Angeles, Night Court, GLOW, Raising Hope, Anger Management, Sam & Cat, and the Sundance Film Festival official selections Reversion and The Perfect Host.
Behind the camera, she has made her mark as a producer and writer on acclaimed dramas including FOX's Empire, CBS's Bull, and NCIS: Los Angeles. She is currently writing and producing HOW TO BUILD A LIFE, an independent television series. A proud Silver Soror of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Wilson blends fierce talent with fearless heart — telling stories that entertain, challenge, and connect.
