James W. Miller, 2014 Visionary Award winner
St. Cloud State and the SCSU Foundation are celebrating philanthropy and outstanding alumni at the inaugural President’s Club Gala on Sept. 11 at the Regency Plaza in St. Cloud. The university will honor James W. Miller for his philanthropic support and recognize five Alumni Award winners.
Miller will receive the first Visionary Award as a community leader and philanthropist who has impacted St. Cloud State. Jim and his wife, Marion, are St. Cloud natives and share a long affiliation with the university.
Miller served on the Foundation Board of Directors from 2000-2004 and helped complete the Foundation’s “Campaign for a New Century” effort, the university’s first comprehensive campaign. The James W. Miller Learning Resources Center is named in recognition for his philanthropy during the campaign, which included student scholarships and faculty development.
Miller is the owner of Miller Properties and founder of Miller Architects & Builders, which celebrates 140 years in business this year.
The university also will present awards to the five Alumni Award honorees at the gala. This year’s winners are: Bob Thueringer ’75, Distinguished Alumni Award; Kyle Ward ’98, Alumni Leadership Award; Hao Nguyen ’06, Graduate of the Last Decade; Margaret Vos ’72 ’82, Alumni Leadership Award; and Marsha Shoemaker, Alumni Service Award.
The public is invited congratulate the Alumni Award winners during the Huskies’ home opener football game on Sept. 13 at Husky Stadium where the recipients will be recognized on the field during halftime. They also will be guests at the pregame tailgate and in the President’s Suite for the game.
Alumni Award winner profiles
Bob Thueringer ’75, 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award winner
Distinguished Alumni Award – Bob Thueringer ’75
Bob Thueringer received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from St. Cloud State in 1975. He recently retired after 47 years with Coborn’s Foods, most recently serving as chief operating officer. Bob currently serves on a number of boards and committees in the area, including the Kiwanis St. Cloud Downtown Club, United Way of Central Minnesota, St. Cloud State University Foundation Board, CentraCare Health Systems BLEND Steering Committee, the Minnesota Grocers Association, the National Grocers Association and the Food Marketing Institute.
Margaret Vos ’72 ’82, Alumni Leadership Award winner
University Leadership Award – Margaret Vos ’72 ’82
Margaret Vos recently retired from St. Cloud State University as the interim associate vice president of international studies at St. Cloud State, where her responsibilities included overseeing the recruitment, admission and services for approximately 1025 international students from 87 countries as well as Education Abroad opportunities in 6 continents with over 350 students participating in education abroad options. Previously, Vos served as director of Atwood Memorial Center at St. Cloud State. She also served as interim vice president of Student Life and Development and associate vice president for the Center for International Studies. She was the director of the University Program Board from 1986-1996. Vos has been a very active member of the greater St. Cloud community serving on the Wheels Wings and Water (WWW) Festival committee for 22 years, which held the largest four day, alcohol free event in the state of Minnesota.
Kyle Ward ’98, 2014 Alumni Leadership Award winner
University Leadership Award – Kyle Ward ’98
Kyle Ward received his master’s degree from St. Cloud State in 1998 in U.S. foreign policy and U.S. and Asian history. Ward currently is an associate professor and director of Social Studies Education at St. Cloud State. He has been a member of the SCSU faculty since 2007. He is affiliated with a number of professional organizations in his field of study, including the International Society for the Social Studies, Upper Midwest Council for History Education (director), Minnesota Council for History Education (treasurer), World History Association and many others.
Hao Nguyen ’06, 2014 Graduate of the Last Decade Award winner
Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award – Hao Nguyen ’06
Hao Quang Nguyen came to the United States from war-torn Vietnam when he was only 10 years old, and saw education as the vehicle to his success. He graduated cum laude from St. Cloud State in 2006 and from the Hamline University School of Law in 2010 with his Juris Doctor degree, and was admitted to the Minnesota State Bar. Nguyen currently serves as an assistant city attorney for the St. Cloud City Attorney’s office.
Marsha Shoemaker, Alumni Service Award winner
Alumni Service Award – Marsha Shoemaker
Marsha Shoemaker joined the University Communications staff at St. Cloud State in 1993 after a rewarding two-decade career as a journalist. In the beginning of her tenure, her duties involved media relations and writing for newsletters and Outlook magazine. Over the next 20 years those responsibilities evolved to include event planning, administrative writing and neighborhood relations. Leading up to and following her retirement in June, Marsha stepped up her involvement with the South Side University Neighborhood Association as a board member and a participant in events aimed at raising awareness and celebrating St. Cloud’s oldest and most historically significant neighborhood.
