Distinguished Alumni Award
The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to up to two Stetson University alumni who have brought honorable distinction and special recognition to Stetson University.
To be nominated for this award, the Stetson graduate(s) must prove to have made significant contributions of time and/or philanthropy to the university and their community through outstanding success and achievement in their lives and professions.
This award is the highest honor Stetson Alumni bestows on a graduate of the university.
See the dates below to view award recipients and their bios.
Cedric Leiba Jr '03
Cedric Leiba Jr is an award-winning actor, singer, poet, producer and advocate. A proud Afro-Boricua, Gay artist, Cedric showcases his Afro-Latine roots as well as represents the LGBTQ+ community through his art and was mostly recently recognized by the Hispanic Federation with their Visibility Award.
He is a co-Founder of DominiRican Productions and a co-producer for the current Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Previous producing credits include the 13x-nominated and Tony Award winning Hell’s Kitchen and the revival of The Wiz on Broadway. As an investor, Cedric was part of the Tony Award winning Broadway revival of Topdog/Underdog.
“release”, a short film produced by DominiRican Productions and inspired by Cedric’s poem of the same title, won Best NYC Film at the NYC Downtown Short Film Festival, the Gold Award at the Hollywood Gold Awards, and Best Experimental Film and Best LGBT Film at the Florence Film Awards. In addition, Ceddy is a Featured Poet in the 2023, 2022 and 2021 Latino Book Review.
As an actor, Cedric has toured the U.S. and Canada with Rent and Miss Saigon as well as performed at the prestigious Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in Carmen la Cubana. Adding to his list of theater and TV credits, Cedric was the Associate Choreographer at Manhattan Class Company (MCC) Theatre’s production of Bees & Honey and he made his prime time episodic NBC debut in the final season of The Black List.
Cedric’s additional TV/Film credits include HBO’s High Maintenance, Fashion One Television’s The Switch and movies Millie and the Lord, Elliot Loves and the lead role of Manny in the Tribeca Nominated Best Narrative Short Gets Good Light. Cedric was part of history by being included in Billy Eichner’s BROS released by Universal Pictures which became the first gay, rom-com, with an all LGBTQ+ cast, produced by a major studio.
Cedric is frequently invited to speak at conferences on the topics of inclusivity and diversity for the Latine and LGBTQ+ communities and is an expert for the U.S. Speaker Program at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs having been invited to lead a delegation in Havana in June 2024.
The Advocate selected Cedric as a “Champion of Pride” in recognition of his mission with DominiRican Productions to create opportunities for Afro-Latine and Indigenous Latine representation in TV and film.
Good Morning America similarly included Cedric in their “Inspiration List” of people making LGBTQ+ history as a “promising trailblazer bringing healing and much-needed conversation.”
Patrick Smith '02
At Stetson University Patrick majored in Economics and Political Science and graduated magna cum laude. He was in the Honors Program and the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity. He was the student commencement speaker for the class of 2002. Patrick was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 2004. After graduating from Stetson, Patrick earned his JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law.
After being admitted to the Florida Bar in 2006, Attorney Smith joined the Law Offices of Joseph F. Pippen Jr. and Associates. He served thousands of estate planning and administration clients while with the firm, eventually rising to managing partner responsible for the firm’s eastern division offices. In 2021, he founded the Law Offices of Patrick L. Smith and Associates and continues to serve clients throughout Central Florida and the Bay Area.
He also hosts a live radio call-in program, “The Attorney Patrick Smith Show,” each Saturday from 8 a.m.-9 a.m. on multiple stations throughout Central Florida. Attorney Smith is also a noted speaker, having been invited to address numerous local organizations including the Military Officers of America Association, the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks Beach, and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, and is available for free seminars on estate planning and related topics.
Patrick has been a supporter of Stetson’s Model Senate program and has established a fund to support it, therefore it is now named the Patrick L. Smith United States Model Senate.
Patrick is married to Kristi G. Smith, BS ’03, and they have one son, William. Kristi majored in Psychology at Stetson.
- 2023 - Michael Pleus '94, MBA '99
- 2023 - John Mills '04
- 2022 - Randall Elliott '63
- 2022 - Cassandra Kellam Jackson '84, JD '96
- 2021 - Shaundra Kellam Lewis '95
- 2021 - Thomas Rebman, MEd '11
- 2020 - Steven Alexander '85
- 2020 - Kimberly Bonner '86
- 2020 - Yvonne Chang, MBA '09
- 2019 - Gino Santos '82
- 2018 - Andrew Daire '91, MS '93
- 2018 - Pamela Epting '86
- 2017 - Julia Nesheiwat '97
- 2017 - Charles A. Wolfe '85
- 2016 - Leopoldo "Leo" Pujals '73
- 2015 - Alethea Bonello '98
- 2015 - Todd DuBosq '01
- 2015 - Robert L. Moore '63
- 2014 - Nsaa-Lya Kihunrwa, MBA '03
- 2014 - Anne Greene Solomon '63
- 2013 - H. Frank Farmer '64
- 2013 - Kaye Wachsmuth '66
- 2012 - Chris K. Brigham '77
- 2012 - Richard W. Cheston '79
- 2012 - Shirrel Rhoades '64
- 2011 - V. Inez Archibald, MA '85
- 2011 - Laurette T. Koellner, MBA '80
- 2011 - Jim Shore '77, JD '80
- 2010 - Jane E. Eckert '70
- 2010 - Lewis M. Kling, MBA '71
- 2010 - Michael H. Yeargan '69
- 2009 - William C. Gaventa, Jr. '69
- 2009 - Gordon H. "Nick" Mueller '61
- 2008 - F. Amos Bailey '79
- 2008 - Shephard W. Hill '75
- 2008 - James W. Lea '64, MA '65
- 2007 - Emory E. "Pete" Dunn '72
- 2007 - George C. Edwards III '69
- 2007 - Timothy O. Olagbemiro '71
- 2006 - Angelita S. Floyd '74
- 2006 - Robin Marino '76
- 2006 - David S. Marsh '75
- 2006 - Joe Negron '83
- 2005 - Cesar Gonzmart '41
- 2005 - Lois Thacker Graessle '39
- 2005 - R. Dean Hollis '82
- 2005 - Jon D. Solomon, MBA '90
- 2005 - Bingham L. Vick '66
- 2004 - Bruce Berkowitz '76
- 2004 - J. Craig Crawford '78, JD '81
- 2004 - Amy Horton ''77
- 2004 - Carroll E. Lewis '53
- 2004 - William J. Schneider '66
- 2003 -J. Barry Griswell, MBA '72
- 2003 - Lawrence R. Johnston '72
- 2003 - Willa Dean Lowery '48
- 2002 - Gwendolyn Azama-Edwards '70, MA '83
- 2002 - Jill K. Jinks '79
- 2002 - Elizabeth Walker Mechling '67
- 2002 - Jay E. Mechling '67
- 2002 - James Nemec '32, LLB '36*
- 2001 - M. Lisa Carlton '86
- 2001 - Elizabeth Bergin Johns '62
- 2001 - Richard W. Pearce '55, JD '55, MA '57
- 2001 - Nancy Naylor Rue '73
- 2000 - William Clay Henderson '77
- 2000 - Joseph W. Landers, Jr. '64, JD '70
- 2000 - George H. Shriver '53
- 1999 - Diane M. Disney '63
- 1999 - M. Jean Greenlaw '62, MA '65
- 1999 - William T. Newsome III '74
- 1998 - William L. Cypress '65
- 1998 - Edward C. Furlong, Jr. '38, MA '41, Hon. '83*
- 1998 - Mel H. Gregory '58
- 1998 - David B. Rinker '62
- 1998 - Leighan Roberts Rinker '65
- 1997 - Wendy Harmer Baldwin '67
- 1997 - Lee R. Cole '67
- 1997 - Milton O. Jones '55
- 1997 - George Winston '71
- 1996 - Leroy K. New '42
- 1996 - William J. Roberts '53, MA '57, LLB '58
- 1995 - A. Dano Davis '68, Hon. '90
- 1995 - Herbert E. Phillips '36
- 1995 - Arthur P. Sullivan '62
- 1995 - Teruo Tanaka, MA '59
- 1994 - J. Ollie Edmunds '25*
- 1994 - Bruce R. Jacob, JD '59
- 1994 - Kenneth P. Kirchman '58, Hon. '80
- 1993 - J. Kermit Coble '53
- 1993 - William D. Jones '51*
- 1993 - M. Lee McGraw '79
- 1993 - Dennis C. McNamara '44, Hon. '82, Hon. '86
- 1992 - Jean F. Dickman '50
- 1992 - Joseph J. Master '58, MA '58, Hon. '95
- 1992 - Carolyn Miller Parr '59, Hon. '86
- 1992 - W. Morgan Patterson '50, Hon. 79
- 1991 - J. Wendell Crysel '59
- 1991 - Helen Quincy Woodard '20*
- 1990 - Frances Rutledge Hand '49
- 1990 - Murray Sams '49, Hon. '83
- 1989 - Vanita M. Baldwin '48, Hon. '90
- 1989 - George R. Borders '61
- 1989 - Craig T. James '63, JD '67
- 1989 - Louie L. Wilkinson '48
- 1988 - Jon L. Mills '69, Hon. '86
- 1988 - James C. Smith, JD '67, Hon. '86
- 1986 - Judith M. Dixon '74
- 1986 - E. Everette Huskey '48
- 1985 - Thomas P. Prince '67
- 1985 - Jack D. Woodall '58
- 1985 - Shelly Crittendon Zwick '63
- 1984 - Charles B. Bugg '65
- 1984 - Chris F. Hasty '70
- 1984 - Lana Jane Lewis-Brent '68
- 1984 - W. Harold Parham '49
- 1984 - E. Clay Shaw '61, JD '66, Hon. '02
- 1983 - Richard A. Beauchamp '63
- 1983 - Joseph B. Folds, Sr. '37*
- 1983 - Cecil W. Holley '54
- 1983 - Barbara Deveaux Holmes '69, MEd '72, Hon. '91
- 1983 - Howard S. Warner '33*
- 1982 - Mary Allgaier Dunn, MA '59
- 1982 - Harry E. Gaylord '36*
- 1982 - Mark C. Hollis '56, Hon. '89
- 1982 - Mary McCollough Mauldin '61
- 1982 - Earnest W. Murphy, Jr. '54, Hon. '94
- 1982 - R. Grady Snowden, Sr. '29, Hon. '96*
- 1981 - E. Ross Allen '29
- 1981 - Jacquelyn Hogue Gentry '58
- 1981 - David P. Houchens '59
- 1981 - David B. Legters '31
- 1981 - Richard D. Pope, Sr. '24
- 1981 - William A. Watson '59
- 1981 - Pat T. Wilson '49
- 1981 - Patricia Maxcy Wilson '47
- 1980 - Thomas J. Deen, Jr. '48
- 1980 - Mary Leary 1902
- 1980 - D. Peter Mazur '52*
- 1980 - Ernest A. Rano '35*
- 1979 - James R. Golden '42
- 1979 - Ralph F. Hansen '29
- 1979 - Joseph T. Sutton '48
- 1978 - Cecil C. Bailey '27, Hon. '78*
- 1978 - Carl M. Kuttler, Jr., JD '65
- 1978 - Clyde C. McCully '49
- 1978 - W. Ret Turner '50
- 1977 - Barbara Rowe, MA '42
- 1977 - Etter McTeer Turner '35, MA '36, Hon. '83*
- 1976 - Clarabel Brandon Jett '32*
- 1976 - William C. Kaleel '56, LLB '59
- 1976 - Jan J. Wieckowski '50, MA '51
- 1975 - Thomas R. Horton '49, Hon. '82
- 1974 - Fran Stewart Carlton '58
- 1974 - Vassar B. Carlton '37, Hon. '84
- 1974 - Cartha D. DeLoach '42, Hon. '66
- 1974 - Harris P. Gravely '44
- 1974 - Edward B. Henderson '27, MS '28
- 1974 - Wm. Amory Underhill '36, Hon. '69*
- 1973 - Priscilla Kauth Griffith, MA '63
- 1973 - John C. Howell '49, Hon. '79
- 1973 - Sara Staff Jernigan '35, MA '37
- 1972 - Grady Crawford '39
- 1972 - Morris Duane '27, Hon. '65*
- 1972 - J. Thomas Smith '28
- 1971 - Walter Auffenberg '51
- 1971 - Richard T. Dillon, JD '57
- 1971 - Raymond G. Dunne '53, MA '57*
- 1971 - David W. Marcell '58
- 1971 - Ronald S. Spencer '51
- 1971 - Redden J. Thames '58
- 1970 - Max Cleland '64, Hon. '77
- 1970 - Elizabeth A. Kovachevich '61
- 1969 - Robert E. Jagger '58
*- Now Deceased