A. Roger Ekirch ’72, a history professor at the Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, has earned the university’s 2009 Alumni Award for Excellence in Research. Ekirch studies American and European history and most recently published At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past, an analysis of how preindustrial Westerners lived during the nocturnal hours.

Jonathan Bagger ’77, Johns Hopkins vice provost for graduate and postdoctoral programs and a physics and astronomy professor, has been elected to the board of directors for the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying health risks and treatments related to long-duration spaceflight.

Sandy Wood ’77, head coach of the University of Rhode Island women’s tennis team for the last five years, was named the 2009 A-10 Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 15-4 overall record.

Allison Exall ’87 of Dallas-based firm Curran Tomko Tarski, LLP, has been named a 2009 Best Lawyer in America in environmental law in the annual U.S. News & World Report listing, as well as one of Texas’ top environmental lawyers by Who’s Who Legal.

Henry Tisdale, Adv’78, president of Claflin University, last spring received an honorary doctorate from Hofstra University, where he delivered the honors convocation address. Under his leadership, Claflin earned top honors from Forbes.com, which in 2008 listed the South Carolina university among the top 5 percent of America’s best colleges and the best historically black university.

Evelyn Stevens ’05 won the four-day Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in Massachusetts, one of the most prestigious stage races on the National Racing Calendar circuit. Stevens, who is in her first season of competitive bicycle racing, rode as an amateur guest with the Lip Smacker pro team.