2021 MC Alumni Award recipients announced
Oct. 15, 2021
Maryville College is pleased to announce this year’s alumni award recipients.
The College’s Alumni Citation will be presented to Dr. Karla Beard Heidelberg ’88 and K.C. Cross ’90. Dr. Adam J. Pritchard ’03 will be presented the Kin Takahashi Award for Young Alumni. The three awards will be presented during the College’s annual Founder’s Day Celebration on Fri., Oct. 22.
The Alumni Citation is awarded to the alumnus/a who has rendered such service in professional, business, civic, social or religious endeavor as to benefit humankind and bring honor to the College, or who has rendered unusual service in any capacity on behalf of the College.
The Kin Takahashi Award for Young Alumni is given to an alumnus/a who has, within 20 years of his/her graduation from Maryville College, lived a life characteristic of College legend Kin Takahashi (Class of 1895), who, in his 36 years of living, worked tirelessly for the betterment of his alma mater, his church and his society.
A committee met in early 2021 to review nominations and recommend winners to the College’s president and Board of Directors.
Heidelberg has long career as researcher and professor
Dr. Karla Beard Heidelberg ’88 graduated from Maryville College with a degree in recreation and went on to earn a Ph.D. in biological oceanography from the University of Maryland. After postdoctoral training, she became an AAAS Science Policy Fellow for the U.S. State Department in the Office of Oceans Affairs. She then joined the J. Craig Venter Institute to coordinate a global research expedition to characterize marine biodiversity using new molecular tools developed during the sequencing of the human genome.
Heidelberg joined the faculty of the University of Southern California in 2006 and splits her time between University Park (Md.) campus and the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. Her research has taken her to many sites, including Antarctica, hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, Australia and other coastal areas around the world. Currently, she is working as a program director in the Office of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation. She and her husband, John Heidelberg ’87, reside in Los Angeles, Calif., and have two children.
Cross is accomplished real estate developer, philanthropist
After graduating from Maryville College with a degree in business administration, K.C. Cross ’90 earned a master’s degree in health services administration at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. Cross then became involved in the operation of skilled nursing facilities and senior living communities, which led to the opportunity to turn around a failing nursing home in 2002.
Since then, Cross has worked with senior living and skilled nursing operators and in commercial real estate development and investments. He is currently the president of a real estate development company which develops, builds and owns residential and commercial real estate. He also devotes time to philanthropic activities through a family charitable foundation. Cross resides in Ft. Lauderdale with his wife Tabatha and six children.
Pritchard recognized for career as researcher, advocate
Dr. Adam Pritchard ’03 majored in sociology at Maryville College. After graduation, he attended the University of Kentucky and joined a project with the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women to work on a pioneering study of sexual, physical and stalking victimization on college campuses.
Pritchard earned his Ph.D. in sociology from UK in 2012 and joined the sociology faculty at the University of Central Florida, where he continued to work in criminology and domestic violence research. He then worked as the senior survey researcher for the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, where he helped lead nationwide data collection efforts around pay equity and representation in higher education. Currently, he is a research associate at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families in Syracuse, N.Y., working to better understand the employment, education and wellness needs of veterans and their families. He has more than 50 research publications, including 19 peer-reviewed articles in the domestic violence field. Pritchard resides in Chittenango, N.Y., with his wife, Chelsea.