UNCW Alumni Association announces Distinguished Alumni Awards winners

Star-News (Wilmington, NC)

Mar. 19—Four people recently received the UNCW Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Awards.

The awards recognize extraordinary achievement, outstanding character and exemplary service to the university and community. The Distinguished Diversity Award, a new award, honors an individual who has made exceptional contributions in the areas of diversity, equity, access, inclusion and social justice.

Dr. Philip M. Brown Jr., a 1988 graduate from UNCW with a bachelor's degree, is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award. As the executive vice president and chief physician executive at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Brown oversees care quality, care transformation and physician leadership. He has been part of an expansive effort to transition the hospital from a regional medical provider to a more comprehensive health system to better serve the healthcare needs of the region.

Brown remains active in the Seahawk community. He serves as the medical director for the master's program in athletic training and on the Dean's Advancement Council in the College of Health and Human Services. He often lectures as a guest in CHHS and mentors students interested in a medical career.

Distinguished Citizen of the Year Wilbur D. Jones Jr. is a nationally known, award-winning author and military historian. A Wilmington native, he holds a University of North Carolina history degree, is a retired U.S. Navy captain and a former assistant and advance representative to President Gerald Ford. He served the Department of Defense for 41 years, the last 12 as a defense acquisition university professor and associate dean.

Jones writes, lectures and consults on World War II as well as other history and defense issues. For more than 12 years, he conceived and led a successful project seeking national recognition for Wilmington as the first "American World War II Heritage City," working with the state's congressional delegation. In March 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill establishing that national preservation program. On Sept. 2 at the Battleship North Carolina, Trump announced the designation by the Secretary of the Interior of Wilmington as the first World War II Heritage City.

In 2012 Jones was recognized with the Wilmington StarNews Media Lifetime Achievement Award. His civic service includes Wilmington Rotary Club director, Hannah Block Historic USO/Community Arts Center Advisory Board chairman, and former advisory boards member for the Salvation Army and New Hanover County Public Library.

Distinguished Young Alumna of the Year winner Courtney Rickert, 2015 and 2018 is a two-time UNCW alumna with a bachelor's degree in special education and a master's degree in public administration. She currently serves as the business operations coordinator for Talbert & Bright, Inc., a professional airport engineering and planning consulting firm in Wilmington.

A former special education teacher for New Hanover County Schools, Rickert continues to serve children in the Wilmington community through her role as director of Children's Music at Wrightsville United Methodist Church, as well as vice president of the Board of Young Professionals for Communities and Schools of Cape Fear. Rickert also serves on the Cape Fear Alumni Chapter Leadership Council. In her free time, she enjoys performing in the local theater scene alongside her husband and fellow Seahawk Christopher Rickert.

Edelmira Segovia, 1998, '12Ed.D., the first recipient of the Distinguished Diversity Award, serves as director of Centro Hispano in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at UNCW. She supports the growing number of Latinx students applying, attending and completing degrees at UNCW; maximizes the success of each student; and most importantly, works to provide a place where every student feels at home while striving for success.

Most recently, Segovia joined the founding team of the Latin American Business Council of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, where she supports accessibility for established Latinx businesses in the region. In this role, she advocates for economic and public policy opportunities in a multilingual and culturally aware platform, with equal access to all resources that foster economic growth, success and integration of Latinx businesses and professionals into fabric of southeastern North Carolina.

Additionally, she serves as Pender County liaison for the Juntos Mentoring Program, under the Division of Student and Academic Affairs at North Carolina State University.

To view more information about the the recipients, visit uncw.edu/news/2021/02/uncw-alumni-association-recognizes-distinguished-alumni,-supporter.html.

___

Visit the Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.) at www.starnewsonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.