U.N. Ambassador, White House Consultant, War Hero To Be Honored at USC Alumni Awards Gala

Edward J. Perkins, who grew up in the cotton fields of a segregated Louisiana, became the first black ambassador the United States sent to South Africa at the height of the struggle against apartheid in 1986.

For his role in South Africa and his lifetime of service, the University of Southern California will give Perkins MPA ’72, DPA ’78 its highest honor for alumni accomplishment: the Asa V. Call Achievement Award.

Perkins is one of a select few to be honored as the USC Alumni Association presents the 74th annual USC Alumni Awards Gala on March 23 to celebrate the achievements and contributions of USC alumni.

The 7:30 p.m. Friday dinner and awards ceremony will be held at the Galen Center on the USC University Park Campus.

Edward J. Perkins, a former ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. representative to the U.N. Security Council, retired from the U.S. Department of State in 1996. His career also included serving as director general of the Foreign Service and ambassador to Liberia and Australia. In 1996 he joined the University of Oklahoma, where last year he became the senior vice provost of International Programs. His life is detailed in his recent memoir, Mr. Ambassador: Warrior for Peace.

The Alumni Merit Awards will be presented to:

• Former Olympic track star and war hero Louis Zamperini ’40. Zamperini enrolled at USC on a scholarship as he was training for the 1936 Olympics. He missed out on a medal, but later set a national collegiate mile mark of 4:08.3 that held for 15 years. He was ready for the 1940 games when World War II intervened. In May 1943, his plane went down in the South Pacific and he and two comrades drifted 2,000 miles for 47 days. Eventually captured by the Japanese and believed dead, he made headlines two and a half years later when he returned home. Zamperini was a torch-bearer for the 1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
• Domestic and international management consultant Leonard Fuller ’68. As president and CEO of Fuller Consulting, Fuller has served such high-profile clients as the White House, the U.S. Department of State and the Ford Motor Company. From 1995 to 2000, he was a USC Trustee, and he has served on the USC Alumni President’s Council since 2000.
• Satake Corporation chairwoman and patron of the arts Toshiko Satake ’57. Satake Corporation, a world leader in food processing systems and machinery related to the production of rice, wheat and corn, was founded by her grandfather, Riichi Satake. He invented the first power-driven rice milling machine in Japan in 1896.

Alumni Service Awards will be presented to volunteer leaders:

• Jeanette “Jea” Morf Baran ’48. From occupying the presidency of Alpha Delta Pi as an undergraduate (1946-1947) to holding the presidency of the Half Century Trojans Board (2003-2004), Morf Baran has been the embodiment of the USC spirit.
• Glenn A. Sonnenberg ’77, JD ’80. Presently a USC Trustee, he also serves on the USC College Board of Councilors and is president of Friends of USC Libraries. Outside of USC, he is president of Legg Mason Real Estate Investors, Inc., which has been responsible for the acquisition, management and/or disposition of more than $5 billion in real estate and debt investments.

The Fred B. Olds Award, presented on special occasion to alumni for their extraordinary and unparalleled service to the university over a long period of time, will go to former USC director of campus development Anthony D. Lazzaro ’49. Lazzaro, vice president emeritus, has been a USC administrator since 1948. During his career at the university, Lazzaro was responsible for the construction of 132 buildings on the USC campuses — he “virtually built the USC we know today,” said then USC President James Zumberge in 1987.

The University Service Award will be given to Lura Daniels-Ball, past director of the Black Alumni Association. Daniels-Ball, former director of the USC Office of Black Alumni Programs, reinvigorated the USC Black Alumni Association by expanding its membership, gathering and archiving alumni memorabilia and initiating a comprehensive fundraising program. Ball also served on the BAA board as well as the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors. She distinguished herself as a lyric soprano and won a CASE Award for Excellence in Alumni Relations.

Contact: Eddie North-Hager at (213) 740-9335 or edwardnh@usc.edu

From University of Southern California Media Relations
Los Angeles, Calif.
Tel: (213) 740-2215