College honors alumni, professor with awards

Jenny Norton, an ordained minister and former Arizona state legislator, who graduated from ASU in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in justice studies and a minor in religious studies, is this year’s recipient of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame award.

Each year, a graduate of ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who achieves professional distinction and makes significant community service contributions is given the Alumni Hall of Fame award. Established by the board of directors of the college alumni chapter in 1995, the award is the highest honor the college confers.

The college is also honoring William C. “Bill” Jenkins, Christine Duff Muldoon and Stephen J. Pyne. Jenkins and Muldoon will receive the college’s Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes citizens of Arizona, ASU alumni and others who contribute to the advancement and development of the college. Pyne, a Regents’ Professor in the School of Life Sciences, will receive the Distinguished Faculty Award, which recognizes faculty members who exemplify the college’s mission of instructional excellence, special dedication to students and performance that makes an impact in the greater community or a professional field.

Jenny Norton

Norton is being recognized for her outstanding community involvement and commitment to higher education at ASU. She and her husband, Bob Ramsey, support underrepresented communities in Arizona through five endowments at ASU: the Norton Grant for Women’s Studies in Religious Studies, Norton Grant for Women’s Studies in Justice Studies, Norton-Stewart Scholarship for Correctional Officers, Norton Women and Gender Studies Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Norton Endowed Research Cluster for the Institute of Humanities Research.

As an assistant pastor at the Desert Springs Foursquare Church, Norton leads a social justice ministry. She also is auxiliary chaplain for the Arizona Department of Corrections, an appointment that follows a family tradition started by her father, Ralph, who engaged in advocacy work in Arizona state prisons.

Other involvement in the community includes mentoring high school students at Compadre High School for at-risk students where she is a board member, and mentoring members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Norton is the recipient of the 2006 Service in Action Award from the Tempe Community Action Agency.

William C. “Bill” Jenkins

Jenkins, a former history teacher, mayor and U.S. naval officer, is a founding director of the Helios Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for success in postsecondary education.

Jenkins, who graduated from ASU in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy and in 1963 with a master’s degree in history, was instrumental in the establishment of two history education resources at ASU: the Helios Education Foundation/William C. Jenkins History Education Endowment and the Helios Education Foundation/William C. Jenkins History Operations Fund. These resources are used by the department of history to ensure effective programming for teaching history at the secondary level.

Jenkins has first-hand experience with teaching history. He spent more than 25 years in the Scottsdale Unified School District teaching American history, Arizona history, American government and economics.

From 1966 to 1974, Jenkins served on the Scottsdale City Council and from 1974 to 1980 was the city’s mayor.

A retired captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Jenkins is a member of the Naval Order of the United States. He also is a member of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Historical Society, Kiwanis Club of Scottsdale McCormick and Scottsdale Preserve Authority.

Christine Duff Muldoon

Muldoon is a well-known communication coach and consultant. She also is a champion of the study of human communication. An ASU graduate in 1979 with a master’s degree in communication, Muldoon supports undergraduate and graduate students in the college’s Hugh Downs School of Human Communication through the Christine Duff Muldoon Communication Scholarship/Fellowship Endowment.

As president of CM Communication International, Muldoon serves in several leadership positions at ASU and in the community. She is co-chair of the Dean’s Advancement Council in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a member of the Executive Advisory Council of the ASU Foundation’s Women in Philanthropy Program and a member of the planning committee for the Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence. Muldoon is a founder and board member of the Grand Canyon Music Festival and on the advisory board of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Muldoon has been listed in “Outstanding Women of America.” In 1998, ASU’s College of Public Programs inducted her into its hall of fame in honor of her business accomplishments in the field of communication.

In addition to her master’s degree in communication from ASU, Muldoon has an undergraduate degree in speech and theater from St. Louis University. She travels throughout the country designing and delivering communication seminars. Among the clients Muldoon lists in her portfolio are IBM, Intel, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and NASA.

Stephen J. Pyne

Pyne is known as one of the world's foremost experts on the environmental history of fire. He is a Regents’ Professor in the School of Life Sciences and a respected authority on the cultural history of fire and fire management.

Pyne first joined ASU’s faculty as a visiting professor of history in 1986. He then taught at ASU’s West campus for 10 years before returning to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Tempe.

Pyne, who calls himself a “pyromantic,” is the leading cultural historian of fire and fire management. His commitment to the field extends well beyond the academic realm and makes a significant impact on one of the most important issues facing Arizona. Pyne has written several books and articles about the history of fire, the Grand Canyon and exploration. He serves as an expert for the news media in the field of fire management and advises policy makers in Washington, D.C., and Ottawa.

His career was set a few days after he graduated from high school in Phoenix when he got a summer job at the Grand Canyon on the North Rim fire crew. He returned every summer for 15 years. In between those summers, Pyne earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University and master’s and doctoral degrees in American civilization from the University of Texas, Austin. He spent the subsequent years combining his fire-fighting experience with his knowledge of history, along with his writing skills. As a result, he has essentially invented a new field of study – the history of fire.

Pyne has received numerous fellowships and grants, including a MacArthur Fellowship, Fulbright Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships and two National Humanities Center Fellowships. Pyne is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and serves as president of the American Society for Environmental History.

Erica Velasco, erica.velasco@asu.edu
(480) 965-1156