Alumnus of the Year

2009

John Schlereth - Graduated in 1956

1) Current President of Baird, Inc.
2) Past Trustee of Donald W. Reynolds Foundation for 15 years. Served as Chairman of the Investment and Audit Committees during that time.
3) Past Member of UAMS Foundation Board for 9 years.  Served as Chairman for 2 years and Vice Chairman for 2 years.
4) Past member of Little Rock Planning Commission for 9 years. Served as Chairman for 2 years and Vice Chairman for two years.
5) Past member of Mount St. Mary’s Advisory Board for 6 years.  Served as Chairman for 2 years.
6) Past member of UALR College of Business Advisory Board for 3 years.
7) Received Distinguished Alumnus Award from UALR College of Business in 2003.
8) Licensed Certified Public Accountant.
9) Married (Susie) for 47 years.  Two children (Michele and Vincent). Two Granddaughters (Megan and Mallory).
10) Graduate Little Rock University 1960.
11) Graduate Catholic High School 1956
12) Graduate St. Edwards Grade School 1952
13) Member of Holy Souls Parish.

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2008

Charlie Schlumberger - Graduated in 1972

Charles L. Schlumberger is a member of Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow PLLC, a Little Rock, Arkansas law firm.  He graduated from Catholic High in 1972 and was student body president.  He obtained his undergraduate degree in government from Cornell University in 1976 and his juris doctorate from Vanderbilt Law School in 1979, where he was an associate editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.  His career has been in the field of civil litigation, including four years in the Department of Justice’s Civil Division in Washington, D.C. and over twenty-five years in private practice.  He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of business litigation and bet-the-company litigation. He is married to Ann Bailey Schlumberger (MSM ’72) and has a son, Adam Hall (CHS 2002), a daughter, Tara Strain, and two grandchildren.

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2007

John York - Graduated in 1967

As owner of the San Francisco 49ers, the DeBartolo Corporation’s largest asset, John York is the fundamental source providing oversight between the company’s home office in Youngstown, OH and the 49ers in San Francisco.  He has been instrumental with the rebuilding of the 49ers and putting a senior management team in place to run the operations of the franchise on a day-to-day basis.

York, along with his wife, Denise DeBartolo York, bring long and distinguished careers in sports and business to their roles as owners of the San Francisco 49ers, creating an organization that adheres to their core family values of success and community leadership.  The first goal of the 49ers is to win football games, but there’s more to our team than just winning on the field.  My family and I are passionate about the 49ers leading Bay Area sports franchises in our service to the community and to being great partners in our business relations.  Denise and John?s dedication to the game of football extends to the top levels of the NFL, where John is the Chairman of the NFL’s International Committee and also sits on the League’s Audit and Business Ventures Committees, while Denise is an active member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Committee.

The York’s passion for football is an outgrowth of devoting much of their careers to professional sports.  Denise, an accomplished business leader, served for several seasons as the president of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, one of only a few female executives in the NHL.  She was instrumental in revitalizing a dormant franchise into a championship team and the first woman to have her name engraved on Lord Stanley?s Cup. 

John, a successful entrepreneur, spent years as Senior Vice President/Director of Racing Operations for the DeBartolo Corporation, instituting programs designed to increase fan participation and enhance the overall value of the racing portfolio.  He developed the inaugural DeBartolo Racing Challenge in 1997, tying together the Derbies at Thistledown in Cleveland, OH, Remington Park in Oklahoma City, OK and Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, LA. York’s interest in racing started with his dad, Jack York, who took him, beginning at age 9, to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs to learn statistics and betting strategy.  While leading the direction of the DeBartolo racing portfolio and after four years of hard work and determination to pass legislation, John was successful at obtaining slots at Louisiana Downs, bringing the facility to profitability never realized in the past.  Upon York’s involvement with the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL, which prohibits involvement with slots and gambling, he sold Louisiana Downs to Harrah’s.

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2006

J.Walter Keller, Jr. - Graduated in 1940

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2005

Steve Hoffmann - Graduated in 1968

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2004

Ed Pruss - Graduated in 1948

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2003

Father Raymond Rossi - Graduated in 1950

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2002

Steve Wells - Graduated in 1973

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2001

Larry Wilson - Graduated in 1953

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2000

G. Larry Jegley - Graduated in 1970

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1999

Father Lawrence Frederick - Graduated in 1955

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1998

Jim Dailey - Graduated in 1960

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1997

Reggie Rogers - Graduated in 1977

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1996

Mike Moran - Graduated in 1961