Alumni Network

Distinguished Alumnus and Honorary Doctorate Awards

Robert Eckert, CEO of Mattel, Inc., delivers
the keynote address after receiving the
Honorary Doctorate of Laws in August 2009.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award and Honorary Doctorate of Laws represent the highest honors the Graziadio School bestows upon an individual. During each commencement ceremony, the awards are presented to two distinguished leaders and luminaries who have achieved preeminence in business. The honorees deliver the keynote address at graduation and share their insights and guidance with the business leaders of tomorrow.

April 2009 Honorees

Honorary Doctorate of Laws Award
Mr. Carl J. Schramm
President and CEO
Kauffman Foundation
Video

Carl Schramm is recognized internationally as a leading authority on entrepreneurial innovation, job creation, and economic growth. The Wall Street Journal has cited his “prescient” work and The Economist hailed him as “the evangelist of entrepreneurship.”

Schramm’s contributions in business, public affairs, philanthropy, government, and academia are unparalleled. His understanding of how entrepreneurship fuels economic expansion led President Obama to give Schramm a prominent role in the December 2009 White House jobs summit. Schramm chaired the national advisory commission on measuring innovation during George W. Bush’s presidency. In addition, he has advised government leaders worldwide on promoting job growth and economic expansion. In 2009, he was appointed by the Prime Minister of Singapore to serve on the country’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council.

Before joining Kauffman, Schramm’s prominent roles included serving as a professor at The Johns Hopkins University, running the nation’s premier health care industry association, founding several companies that manage health care finance and information technologies, serving as the executive vice president of Fortis, and creating his own merchant banking firm.

Schramm is a prolific writer whose commentary often runs in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. He frequently appears on CNBC and Fox Business News. His two books, Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism (with Robert Litan and William Baumol, now published in seven languages) and The Entrepreneurial Imperative, are considered international classics in their field for their insights into economic growth. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Batten Fellow in the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. He earned degrees in economics and law and has two honorary doctorates. In 2004, the University of Rochester gave Schramm its George Eastman medal for innovation in management.

Distinguished Alumni Award
Mr. Dave Bowman
Vice President and General Manager
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
Video

David M. Bowman is Boeing Military Aircraft vice president and general manager for Global Mobility Systems (GMS), reporting to the CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. This unit consists of domestic and international mobility programs such as the C-17 Globemaster III and advanced mobility systems, as well as International Tanker Programs. Bowman is C-17 program manager, with all business, technical, production, and support responsibilities for the program. He also is responsible for International Tanker Programs, leading the drive for delivering KC-767 aerial refueling tankers to Italy and working with Japan on support for four KC-767 tankers already delivered.

Bowman was appointed in January 2010. This is his second assignment as vice president and general manager for Global Mobility Systems. He held the position, as well as the post of vice president and program manager for the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III Program, responsible for business, technical, production and support operations, before becoming vice president and general manager of Boeing Tanker Programs in August 2008. Prior to his first GMS assignment, which also included leading the C-32, C-40 and C-27J businesses within GMS, Bowman was the program manager for the AV-8B Harrier Program in St. Louis.

Since joining the company in 1979, Bowman has held a variety of technical and leadership roles in flight test engineering and operations, production engineering, design engineering, project management and program management for several commercial and military air vehicle platforms.

He attended California State University at Long Beach and National University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science. Bowman received his Master of Science degree in global technology management from Pepperdine University. He is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and a senior member of the International Society of Flight Test Engineers, where he served on the International Board of Directors for six years.

Bowman also serves on the boards of directors for the California Conference for Equality and Justice, Special Olympics Southern California, and YMCA of Greater Long Beach. He is the Boeing Executive Focal for California State University Long Beach.

Past Honorees