Hall of Fame and Alumni Awards
Each year, the College of Education and Human Ecology, in collaboration with the college’s Alumni Society Board of Governors, honors alumni who have made outstanding contributions in their chosen fields, exemplifying the college’s legacy of service and excellence. The nomination period is June through August each year and winners are celebrated in an annual event that takes place during Homecoming Weekend.
The 2025 event is scheduled for Thursday, October 2nd.
For more information, visit the Homecoming Weekend webpage.
2025 Winners
Hall of Fame Award
Induction into EHE’s Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by the college and alumni society. Those who are chosen for this award must have made significant contributions to education and human ecology and serve as a role model for all others in their fields. Hall of Fame inductees have distinguished themselves nationally or internationally by making a positive contribution to society and bringing extraordinary credit to the college and to The Ohio State University. They must be former college faculty members, administrators, or graduates from an education or human ecology program.
Lt. Col. Harold H. Brown
August 19, 1924 – January 12, 2023
’MA 69, ’73 PhD, both in Vocational and Technical Education
Lt. Col. Harold H. Brown was a decorated combat fighter pilot, educator, mathematician and mentor whose life story reflects courage, perseverance and service. A native of Minneapolis and graduate of North High School, Brown was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American military pilots in U.S. history. He trained at the Tuskegee Institute and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1944, joining the 332nd Fighter Group, 99th Fighter Squadron.
During World War II, Brown flew 30 combat missions with the 15th Air Force, protecting bombers and strafing enemy targets. On his final mission over Bruck, Austria, his aircraft was hit by shrapnel from a locomotive he had just destroyed. Forced to bail out, he was captured and became a prisoner of war at age 20. He was held in Nuremberg and later at Stalag VII-A until liberated by General George S. Patton’s forces.
Brown continued his military service through the Korean War and Cold War, retiring in 1965 after 23 years with the rank of lieutenant colonel. His service helped pave the way for the desegregation of the U.S. military, and in 2007 he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal alongside his fellow Tuskegee Airmen.
Following his military career, Brown turned to education, earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Ohio University and both a master’s and PhD in vocational-technical education from Ohio State. He played a pivotal role in developing Ohio’s two-year college system, serving as chairman of the electronics department and later as vice president of academic affairs at Columbus Technical College, now Columbus State Community College. His leadership helped expand access to higher education for thousands of students.
Brown also founded Brown and Associates, an educational consulting firm, and spent 26 years helping institutions improve technical education. He was a passionate advocate for youth, volunteering with the Tuskegee Airmen Red Tail Project and inspiring audiences with his favorite message: “If I can do it, you can do it!”
Throughout his life, Brown exemplified the six guiding principles of the Tuskegee Airmen:
- Aim High
- Believe in Yourself
- Use Your Brain
- Never Quit
- Be Ready to Go
- Expect to Win
He was not only a hero and role model, but also a loving husband, father and friend. Brown is survived by his devoted widow, Marsha Bordner, PhD, his daughter Karen Brown-Jackson, his stepson Jonathan Bordner and his grandsons Dashiell and Simon Bordner.
He spent his final years in Port Clinton, Ohio, a community he cherished and where he is fondly remembered as a hometown hero.
Lt. Col. Harold H. Brown’s legacy lives on in the lives he touched, the barriers he broke and the generations he inspired to reach for greatness.
Brown’s autobiography, Keep Your Airspeed Up: The Story of a Tuskegee Airman, renders his full life story.
Career Achievement Award
The Career Achievement award honors alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their professions and a difference in the lives of others. The emphasis of this award is on teaching, mentoring, and sharing their skills and talents with others in their profession.
Joy Gaston Gayles
’02 PhD Higher Education and Student Affairs
Joy Gaston Gayles is head of the Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development Department and the Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. Gayles is internationally recognized for her research and scholarship on women and people of color in STEM fields and her work in intercollegiate athletics. Issues of equity, inclusion and justice undergird the collective body of her work. Gayles is a primary thought leader in her field. In 2022, she was named one of 25 innovative women leading higher education in DIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education magazine. She served as the 2022 president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), the primary association for studying postsecondary education issues.
H. Richard Milner IV
’00 MA, ’01 PhD, both Educational Policy and Leadership
Professor of Education
Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Education
Immediate Past Joseph A. Johnson, Jr. Distinguished Leadership Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning
Professor of Sociology (Secondary)
Professor of Education Policy Studies (Secondary)
Founding Director, Initiative for Race Research and Justice
Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University
H. Richard Milner IV is a researcher, scholar and leader of urban education and teacher education whose work innovates and supports educator effectiveness across disciplines. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the world’s largest educational research association in the world. He is also a past president of AERA.
Milner’s work has influenced designs and implementation of curricular, assessment and instructional policies and practices in school districts across the United States and around the world. He developed and introduced the Opportunity Gap Framework to assist researchers in better capturing students’ experiences in schools. He also introduced the Researcher Positionality Framework to challenge and support researchers in designing and enacting studies and programs of research that recognize, name and work through what he describes as dangers “seen, unseen and unforeseen” in studying race and culture in education science. Widely cited, the framework has been adapted across the world and in a range of disciplines, including engineering and health sciences.
Milner is the first Black person in the history of Vanderbilt University to earn tenure and promotion in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development. He has authored nine books, including three bestsellers, and more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.
James “Jim” Weese
’91 PhD Physical Education
W. James “Jim” Weese is a distinguished professor of sport management and senior academic leader at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. He is recognized as a transformational academic leader and a leading authority on the topic of leadership.
His accomplishments have earned him a number of awards, including the prestigious Queen’s Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Government of Canada. The North American Society for Sport Management has awarded him their three honors: the Dr. Earle F. Zeigler Award, the Dr. Garth Paton Distinguished Service Award and the Distinguished Sport Management Educator Award.
He is one of only three scholars to receive all four of these awards/honors and, to date, the only Canadian to hold that distinction.
His acclaimed book, The 5C Leader: Exceptional Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Times, has been embraced by academic and practitioner audiences and has led to invited presentations across the globe.
His latest books, The Leadership Lifecycle: How to Prepare, How to Excel, and How (and When) to Effectively Exit and his children’s leadership book, The Grandpa Rules: Essential Lessons for Success in Life and Leadership, have captured nationwide attention from major Canadian media outlets.
Over the course of his career, Weese has served in several senior leadership positions, including as president of the North American Society for Sport Management and the National Deans’ Councils for both kinesiology and the National Health Sciences Deans’ Council. The University of Windsor inducted him into its Sports Hall of Fame, and, in 2023, the institution awarded him its top alumni honor, the Alumni Award of Merit.
Excellence in Education Award
Zoraba Ross
’88 BS Education
Zoraba Ross is the principal of the Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resources (FAIR) School in Crystal, Minnesota, part of Robbinsdale Area Schools. Under his leadership, FAIR serves as a model of 21st-century learning grounded in equity, arts and STEAM excellence, fostering critical, creative and analytical thinking through inquiry-based, interdisciplinary instruction.
He previously served as the district’s K-12 arts coordinator and has held a range of administrative roles in both central and northern Ohio school districts. Before entering school leadership, Ross gained extensive experience in community engagement and operations through leadership positions with the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex and the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, as well as recognition as an award-winning physical education teacher.
A native of Marion, Ohio, Ross was a three-year track team captain and record-holding Big Ten athlete during his undergraduate program in the college. Later, he received his Master of Education in Educational Administration from Ashland University.
He has coached athletes to state, regional and national honors and remains active in community and professional organizations, including serving on the Governor- appointed Minnesota Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals Board and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
A published author and advocate for educational equity, Ross has co-authored articles on instructional leadership, school transitions and professional learning for administrators
Meritorious Service
Kevin M. Doll
’20 BS, ’21 MS, both Family Resource Management
For nearly 25 years, Doll, a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, has helped families navigate their financial journeys with compassion, expertise and integrity. Known for his thoughtful guidance and dedication to building lifelong relationships, he is deeply committed to empowering clients to achieve financial independence, build confidence in their future and live their dreams with peace of mind.
Doll’s commitment to service extends well beyond work. He is a passionate advocate for financial literacy and professional mentorship. He actively supports the university’s Consumer and Family Financial Services program, leads pro bono financial education and literacy seminars, mentors aspiring financial advisors and taught as adjunct faculty in financial planning.
His commitment to shaping the future of the profession is reflected in his frequent guest lectures, participation in industry forums and events and ongoing collaboration with academic and community partners.
For over a decade, Doll served on the college’s Alumni Society Board of Governors, including terms as president and treasurer. He played a key role in merging alumni boards of the former colleges and was instrumental in securing CFP® Board approval for the financial planning course series in the college. Today, he continues his service on the university’s Honors and Scholars Alumni Society Board and the Consumer and Family Financial Services Advisory Board.
Outside of his professional commitments, Doll enjoys attending Columbus Crew matches, hiking, performing in community theater and choir productions and volunteering with A Kid Again and Central Ohio’s Programs for Animal Welfare.
New Leader Award
Antonio Duran
’19 PhD, Higher Education and Student Affairs
Antonio Duran is an associate professor of higher and postsecondary education in the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, as well as a Juris Doctor (JD) student in the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, both at Arizona State University. His research agenda addresses how issues of inequity shape institutions of higher education, and what practitioners, faculty and students do to resist them. He is especially interested in applying frames that expose how intersecting systems of oppression affect multiply minoritized people and their navigation of these social institutions. As a JD student, he strives to explore how research informs legal practice (and vice-versa) to advance equity and justice. Duran completed his BA in English and American Literature at New York University, an MS in the Student Affairs in Higher Education program at Miami University and a PhD in the college’s Higher Education and Student Affairs program.
Quantá Taylor
’14 MA, ’22 EdD, both Higher Education and Student Affairs
Quantá Taylor currently serves as the assistant vice president for Student Affairs and assistant dean of students at the University of Louisville, where he leads efforts to create transformative. out-of-classroom experiences that foster meaningful student involvement, leadership development and community engagement.
A dynamic scholar-practitioner, Taylor brings deep expertise in student engagement, organizational theory and structure and the legal landscape of higher education. He is a sought-after consultant known for his work in designing student-centered spaces, facilitating professional development focused on the needs of staff and leading trainings on the First Amendment and student expression.
His research and practice emphasize cultivating inclusive and responsive campus environments that align with institutional values and student needs.
An active leader in national conversations around student affairs, Taylor serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association for Campus Activities. He recently concluded a decade-long service on the National Advisory Council of the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education, where he chaired Student Participation and Leadership.
Taylor holds undergraduate degrees in Cultural, Ethnic and Racial Studies and Psychology from Transylvania University.
