Brent Walth, '84, received the University of Oregon Alumni Association's Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. Each year, the Alumni Association presents the award to an individual who has achieved significant accomplishments prior to his or her forty-sixth birthday.

In 2001, Walth, along with Rick Attig, '83, were part of a team from The Oregonian to win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for their six-part investigative series, "Liberty's Heavy Hand." The series exposed grave injustice and abuses committed at the hands of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The public outcry brought about by the piece led to profound changes in INS policy.

At The Oregonian, Walth has acted as Washington, D.C., correspondent, environmental reporter, and most recently, senior reporter on the newspaper's investigative team. Walth is the author of the highly acclaimed, Fire at Eden's Gate: Tom McCall and the Oregon Story.

Everette Dennis, who served as dean of the School of Journalism and Communication from 1981 to 1984, received one of the University's highest honors, the Distinguished Service Award. Each spring, University faculty select individuals who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to serving higher education and the greater community.

Dennis' work in media studies has had an enormous influence on the field of journalism, both nationally and internationally. He currently serves as the Felix E. Larkin Distinguished Professor at Fordham University Graduate School of Business and is director of Fordham's Center for Communications. He also acts as executive director and chief operating officer of the International Longevity Center-USA, Ltd.

Dennis was the founding president of the American Academy in Berlin and founding executive director of Columbia University's Media Studies Center, the first institute established for advanced study of media and technological change.

His career also includes service in executive positions with the Gannett/Freedom Forum foundations and the International University Consortium. He has led fact-finding task forces in Europe, the Americas and East Asia, and published monographs on media industries in these regions. He also served as external examiner for universities in Nigeria and has lectured in more than 30 universities in the U.S. and abroad. He's authored hundreds of journal articles and more than 40 books on media studies.

Other recipients of this year's Distinguished Service Award include UO Emeritus Professor William Loy, author and cartographer of the Atlas of Oregon and Victor Atiyeh, Governor of Oregon from 1979-1987.

According to University President Dave Frohnmayer, "This year's honorees are widely recognized for their pioneering vision and true leadership over decades of service in higher education and the larger community. Their work has extended our understanding of the world and given us new tools and insights to help us transform our local and global community into a rich world of opportunity for all. This award recognizes their service and gives us an opportunity to say thank you on behalf of all those whose lives they have touched."