A generous donor, teacher-turned-legislator, soldier, human rights advocate and long-time employee of St. Cloud State are the honorees for this year’s Alumni and Visionary awards.
St. Cloud State University and the SCSU Foundation are celebrating philanthropy and outstanding alumni at the second annual President’s Club Gala Sept. 17 at the Regency Plaza in St. Cloud.
The university will honor George B. Torrey for his 40 years of support for St. Cloud State athletics and academics and recognize four alumni for their accomplishments, service and leadership.
Torrey earned the 2015 Visionary Award for his support of St. Cloud State as a parent of alumni, sports fan and community leader.
Together with his wife, Shirley, Torrey has been an ardent fan and support of St. Cloud State athletics for more than 40 years, establishing a scholarship fund in memory of their son, David, that provides a full scholarship annually for a Huskies Hockey goalie.
His 2014 leadership gift in support of St. Cloud State intercollegiate athletics enabled the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center to become a reality, ensuring the facility would be equipped with a state-of-the-art scoreboards that feature a video screen for instant replays and other new technology. He also supported the remodel of Centennial Hall to house the Herberger Business School. He and other Herberger’s employees were recognized with a named conference room on Centennial Hall’s third floor.
“St. Cloud State is so very important to the community,” Torrey said. “And athletics is important to the university because it brings so much public awareness to the campus.”
A native of Alexandria, Torrey served in the Army and began his business career before moving to St. Cloud in 1971 to join G.R. Herberger’s Inc. While the store was an employee-owned company from 1972-97, Torrey as executive vice president, COO and finally president, together with CEO Bob Sullivan, built the company into a multi-million dollar 40-store company.
The university and foundation will also present awards to four Alumni Award honorees at the gala. Those earning 2015 accolades include: Dean Urdahl ’71, Distinguished Alumni Award; Eunice Adjei-Bosompem ’06 ’10, Alumni Service Award; Joshua Mangas ’04, Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD); and Anne Abicht ’06, Alumni Leadership Award.
The honorees will be publicly recognized at halftime of the Celebrate! St Cloud State football game Sept. 19 at Husky Stadium.
Distinguished Alumni Award – Dean Urdahl ’71
Dean Urdahl earned his bachelor’s degree in Social Studies in 1971. He taught at New London-Spicer High School from 1971 until retirement in 2006. While a teacher, he served as a cross country coach for 27 years leading his team to 10 state tournament appearances and three state championships. He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2002 and is currently serving his seventh term. He chaired the Legacy Funding Committee from 2011-14 and has received several awards throughout his legislative career. He has also served on numerous boards and commissions, is a speaker on history and government at events statewide, has authored eight books and operated his family’s painting business from 1981-2006.
Alumni Service Award — Eunice Adjei-Bosompem ’06, ’10
Eunice Adjei-Bosompem earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2006 and a master’s degree in Social Responsibility in 2010. She is the founder and owner of Adom Consulting LLC, a human rights consulting business in St. Cloud. As the head of Adom, she trains companies on diversity, promotes and provides anti-racism education and attends to the needs of immigrants and refugees entering the St. Cloud community. She also works for District 742 as the Parents in Action coordinator.
Adjei-Bosompem serves on numerous committees and is a part of several organizations including the St. Cloud State Community Anti-Racist Education Initiative and the Alumni Association Board of Directors. She has received several awards.
Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award: Joshua Mangas ’04
Major Joshua Mangas is a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice in 2004. In 2005 he was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 101st where he led his platoon in combat throughout Baghdad and was awarded two Bronze Stars, one for valor and one for service. In 2012, after two more deployments advising Iraqi military units, he served as both an observer, coach, trainer and senior planner for Special Operations Forces at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. In 2014, he earned a Master of Science degree in Defense Analysis in June from the Naval Post Graduate School.
Alumni Leadership Award: Anne Abicht ’06
Anne Abicht joined the St. Cloud State University Communications staff in 1985 and served as director of Athletic Media Relations until she retired from St. Cloud State in June. She earned her master’s degree in sports management from St. Cloud State in 2006.
Abicht has played an important role in the growth and success of the athletic program including the men’s hockey team moving to the NCAA Division I level along with the addition of three women’s sports – soccer, Nordic ski and hockey. She was the first woman to serve as the director of athletic media relations at St. Cloud State and was recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) with its Trailblazer Award in 2007 and inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame class of 2015.
