Greenville College Honors Alumni
Published: April 13, 2021
Greenville College has announced the winners of its 2013 Alumni Awards. This years honors go to Distinguished Alumnus Dennis Spencer 75, Outstanding Young Alumnus Gary Pierson 95 and Loyalty Award winner Professor Emeritus of History and Political Science Dan Jensen. The College will formally recognize the honorees in a Homecoming chapel service on October 18 and at its Alumni Dinner, October 19.
A Career Connecting Fans With Sports
Distinguished Alumnus Dennis Spencer of Vienna, VA, serves as executive vice president for Lagardere Unlimited, Media, Events and Collegiate. The global sports and news media agency manages broadcasting rights in sporting events. Spencer oversees all of Lagarderes domestic and international television activity, including the U.S. and French Open Tennis Championships, the Boston Marathon, M-1 Global Mixed Martial Arts and several Association of Tennis Professionals tournaments. Spencers career highlights include:
- Representing the National Basketball Association in its first foray into Europe.
- Creating international television platforms for the United States Tennis Association, the Tour de France, and the NCAA Final Four Basketball Championships.
- Producing specials or series on all three major TV networks, ESPN, USA, Versus and PBS.
- Producing the Emmy Award-winning TV documentary A Hard Road to Glory, ABCs prime time series The Superstars, and NBCs The Caesars Tribute to the Golden Age of American Skating.
Retirement Redefined
A talent for woodworking, a flair for theater, and a heart for service in causes dear to the GC community make retiree Dan Jensen this years recipient of the Colleges Loyalty Award. Evidence of Jensens craftsmanship can be seen throughout campus:
- The service desk in H.J. Long Gymnasium
- The Hall of Fame in the gym lobby
- An information kiosk in the dining commons
- The press box on the softball field
Theatergoers may also recall Jensen playing lead roles in Factory Theatre productions of Macbeth, Fiddler on the Roof, You Cant Take it With You, and Tartuffe. He served as a longtime board member for The Simple Room, edited its newsletter and remodeled its kitchen. He is also has volunteered at Greenvilles federal prison where he led inmates in writing their life stories and directed several inmate productions of Twelve Angry Men. Jensen resides in Greenville.
Legal Expertise and a Heart for the Arts
Outstanding Young Alumnus Gary Pierson of Clayton, MO, translates his passion for the arts into legal services that support artists. He specializes in intellectual property, entertainment and advertising and marketing. Piersons work keeps him engaged with artists, writers, producers, record labels and filmmakers. He serves on the board for Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for Artists (VLAA) and leads a music business seminar at St. Louis University Law School. The St. Louis Business Journal named Pierson one of its 40 Under 40 young professionals for 2012, citing his career success and contributions to community.
Selection for Greenville College alumni awards is based on a formal nomination and review process. For additional information about nominating alumni for the 2014 Alumni Awards, contact Pam Taylor at 618-664-6513 or pam.taylor@greenville.edu.
