The UCI Alumni Association has announced UC Irvine Distinguished Professor Brian Skyrms, logic & philosophy of science and economics, will receive the 2011 Extraordinarius award during the 41st annual Lauds & Laurels ceremony May 12 at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.

Eighteen additional distinguished individuals - including four from social sciences - will be feted for their commitment to UC Irvine.  Recipients include a Pulitzer Prize winner, UCI’s first woman drafted into professional soccer, physicians, scientists, educators and humanitarians from every walk of life. Awardees were selected by a committee of alumni, faculty, students and volunteers. A complete list follows.

“Lauds & Laurels is our opportunity to publicly recognize and thank those people who, through their good works, make such a positive impact on the university,” said Jorge E. Ancona, assistant vice chancellor of alumni relations and UCIAA executive director. “It’s more than just an awards ceremony. Lauds & Laurels allows us to showcase the tremendous impact the people of UC Irvine make on our community at large. “

Since 1971, the association has recognized more than 700 people, with proceeds from the event benefitting UCIAA scholarship programs. The Extraordinarius award is presented to those who have prominently contributed to the advancement of UCI and its fundamental missions of teaching, research and public service.

Brian Skyrms’ research and leadership have earned him membership in every honorary society for which he is eligible and catapulted UCI’s Department of Logic & Philosophy of Science to the top of like programs in the English-speaking world.

Individual tickets to the awards ceremony are $250, with 10-person tables available by calling the association at 949-824-2586.

Lauds & Laurels 2011 Honorees

EXTRAORDINARIUS
Brian Skyrms, Ph.D.
School of Social Sciences

OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
Michael Nguyen
Health Sciences

OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT
Daisy Verduzco Reyes
Social Sciences

OUTSTANDING STUDENT ATHLETE
Tanya Taylor – Women’s Soccer
Social Ecology

FACULTY ACHIEVEMENT
Bill Maurer, Ph.D.
Social Sciences

STAFF ACHIEVEMENT
Helen Morgan ’92
Social Sciences

OUTSTANDING UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Richard and Cheryll Ruszat
Co-owners, Montessori Schools of Irvine

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

CLAIRE TREVOR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
Teal Wicks ’05
Broadway actress, currently starring in “Wicked”

SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Katherine Hills ’83
Owner and Managing Director, Krush Creative Group

THE PAUL MERAGE SHCOOL OF BUSINESS
Shelley Hoss, M.B.A. ’87
President, Orange County Community Foundation

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Judi Conroy ’83, M.A. ’95, Ed.D. ’09
Director of Teacher Education, UCI

THE HENRY SAMUELI SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Paramesh Gopi ’91, M.S. ’93, Ph.D. ’03
President and CEO, Applied Micro Circuits Corporation

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES
Hector Tobar, M.F.A. ’95
Columnist, Los Angeles Times

DONALD BREN SCHOOL OF INFORMATION & COMPUTER SCIENCES
Jon Teichrow ’86
President, Mirth Corporation

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Richard Kammerman, M.D. ’62
Retired Physician

SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES
David MacMillan, Ph.D. ’96
Chair and Professor, Princeton University

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL ECOLOGY
Joan Patronite Kelly ’77
Managing Principal, Bonterra Consulting

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Scott Steiner ’96
Judge, Orange County Superior Court

For a complete list of past Lauds & Laurels honorees, visit: www.alumni.uci.edu/assets/pdf_files/landl_past_recip.pdf. Information regarding tickets and table sponsorships is available by calling the association: 949-UCI-ALUM.

-Cathy Lawhon, University Communications