Excellence recognized

BGSU honors graduates at College Alumni Awards

BOWLING GREEN, O.—On March 7, Bowling Green State University honored seven accomplished graduates at the 2015 BGSU College Alumni Awards. Held in Olscamp Hall, the ceremony recognized the impressive professional and civic achievements of the following individuals:

College of Arts and Sciences

The Honorable Sara Lioi is an Article 3 federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. She joined the court in 2007 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.

Lioi graduated from BGSU with a bachelor's degree in political science and received a Juris Doctor degree from The Ohio State University law school in 1987. While at BGSU, she received the Distinguished Undergraduate Political Science Major award, and the prestigious Nordmann Award and was recognized by numerous honor societies.

She was a partner with Day, Ketterer, Raley, Wright and Rybolt, Ltd. in Canton, Ohio, from 1987-97 before being elected to serve as judge of the Stark County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas from 1997-2007. On the recommendation of Sen. George Voinovich, Lioi was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and received commission on March 14, 2007.

She is a member of the Federal Judges Association, Federal Bar Association, American Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association and Stark County Bar Association. Lioi is chair of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton board of directors and also serves on the Walsh University board of directors and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law national advisory council.

College of Business Administration

In a career at Johnson and Johnson spanning more than 32 years, Michael McGranaghan made significant contributions to the enterprise, including senior finance leadership roles in each segment of the business as well as procurement.

After graduating from BGSU magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in accounting, he earned an MBA with high honors from The Pennsylvania State University. McGranaghan joined Johnson and Johnson in 1982 as a senior financial analyst in the corporate finance group and rapidly ascended to leadership positions across the consumer, pharmaceutical and medical devices and diagnostics businesses.

He was promoted to chief financial officer for Iolab in 1994, served as the CFO for the Johnson and Johnson Merck OTC Joint Venture in 1995, and was appointed the CFO for Ethicon EndoSurgery in 1996.

In 1999, McGranaghan was promoted to vice president for group finance for the medical devices and diagnostics segment, where his leadership was instrumental in shaping the business into a world-leading competitor. He also served as the vice president for group finance for the medicines and nutritionals business from 2003-05.

In 2006, McGranaghan was named Johnson and Johnson's first chief procurement officer. In 2009, he joined the pharmaceuticals business as vice president for group finance, where he played a key role in leading the successful transformation of the business to one of the most innovative and fastest growing pharmaceutical businesses in the world.

In addition to his significant contributions to the company, McGranaghan was an outstanding developer of talent and mentored many finance and business leaders and employees at all levels and across multiple functions in the organization. He currently serves on the BGSU College of Business Administration Leadership Council.  

College of Education and Human Development

Debra McCurdy, Ph.D., serves as the president and chief executive officer of Rhodes State College in Lima, Ohio. In this role, to which she was appointed in 2006, she is responsible for providing the leadership and executing the strategic planning and vision for the college.

She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and her doctorate in higher education administration and supervision from BGSU. McCurdy previously served as provost and chief operating officer for Georgia Perimeter College, from 1997-2006. Prior to that, she was associate provost at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta.

Earlier, McCurdy served as vice president for academic affairs for Paul Quinn College in Waco, Texas, and assistant dean of academic affairs at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. She is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Association of Community Colleges, American Association of University Women, and Presidents’ Round Table for African American CEOs.

McCurdy has received a number of honors such as the Georgia Association of Educational Office Personnel Administrator of the Year Award, Georgia Perimeter College Atlas Presidential Award, Clark Atlanta University Distinguished Service Award and was named an Outstanding Young Woman of America in 1985. She is chair of the Lima Memorial Hospital Audit committee and also serves on the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce Board, Lima Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, and National Articulation Transfer Network, among others.

College of Health and Human Services

Beth Rudloff was appointed chief operating officer of UF Health Cancer Center – Orlando Health in Orlando, Fla., in February 2011. UF Health Cancer Center is a fully integrated statewide cancer treatment and research program with University of Florida Health that provides cancer care to more than 80,000 patients.

Prior to becoming COO, she was the chief nursing officer for Orlando Regional Medical Center. Rudloff previously served in other leadership positions for the health care organization including chief quality officer, director of care management, and executive director of Healthchoice.

She holds a master’s degree in business administration specializing in health care administration from Northcentral University and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from BGSU. She is also a certified nurse executive-advanced. She serves on the board of directors for Shepherd’s Hope and J4 leaders.

College of Musical Arts

Erik Rönmark came to the United States from his native Sweden in 1996 to continue his musical education. A classical saxophonist by trade, Rönmark is the general manager of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has extensive performing experience in both chamber music and orchestral settings.

He has performed in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on several occasions, as a guest in Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, and regularly appears in the contemporary group New Music Detroit, of which he is also co-founder and executive director. Recently, Rönmark was featured with the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, culminating with a national tour with the Pacifica String Quartet.

Rönmark is a first-prize winner of both the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. He is also the recipient of the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s award for establishing valuable relationships between Sweden and America. He has collaborated and assisted artists such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Terry Riley, Matthew Barney, Shara Worden and Branford Marsalis, and has commissioned and premiered more than 30 new works for saxophone.

Rönmark has been a part of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra administration since 2005. He holds degrees in fine arts and music performance from Northern State University and BGSU, as well as a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan.

College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering

Patrick Hansford is an architect, planner and former educator. Originally from Troy, Ohio, he graduated from BGSU with a bachelor’s degree in technology and holds a master’s degree in architecture from Miami University.

Hansford has been practicing architecture since 1986. He began his career working for several award-winning firms as a project designer. Before starting his own firm, Hansford was the senior project architect for an internationally based engineering/architecture firm located in Dayton, Ohio.

With nearly 30 years of professional practice, his experience includes governmental, commercial, industrial, historic preservation and residential projects. Hansford has also taught architectural design, construction technology and building codes at the collegiate level. He currently is licensed to practice architecture in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and West Virginia. He also is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

Since 1994, Hansford has been practicing under his own firm, Patrick Hansford Associates. The firm’s mission is to provide contextual design solutions for the unique environment of the American small town.

Firelands College

A two-time graduate of BGSU, Audrey Shafer attended BGSU Firelands as a nontraditional student and earned her bachelor’s degree in general business and her master’s degree in education.

She has held numerous jobs in the private sector with firms such as Periodical Publishers’ Service Bureau, General Motors Corp., New York Life Insurance Co., Sears Roebuck and Co., and Cedar Point Resorts. In 2002-03, she self-published and promoted a book about her second husband’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease titled “Where Does the Wind Go?”

From 1989-93, Shafer was the owner and operator of Das Shafer Puppen Haus Doll Museum, where a majority of the proceeds benefitted the Shriners Organization. She volunteers at Stein Hospice and Parkvue Retirement Community, where she founded the library media center. Shafer has also served on numerous boards within her community such as the advisory committee for EHOVE Joint Vocational School, Erie County Senior Center, Sandusky City Human Relations Commission, and the board of directors for the Perkins Community Schools Program.

In 2013, she was recognized by the Sandusky Register as one of three Erie County residents who have significantly helped the community in recognition of her efforts to repair a veterans memorial at Oakland Cemetery. She also received the 2014 Ben M. Herbster Award from United Church Homes.

Shafer is a champion for the importance of education and recently established the William C. Shafer Scholarship at BGSU Firelands in honor of her first husband.