Joseph Blake ’58 is the first sole chancellor of the Colorado State University system, following a recent decision to separate the role from that of president. Blake, who previously served 10 years as president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, will be responsible for managing the system’s $1 billion budget.

John Hinman, class of 1908, has been inducted posthumously into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame for his contributions to the industry. Hinman, who died in 1981, spent his entire career with International Paper, beginning as a forestry district manager in 1913 and retiring as company chairman in 1961.

Drew Waitley ’52, a former executive with Continental and LaSalle National banks in Chicago for almost 50 years, has earned the Chicago Building Congress 2009 Award of Honor, recognizing his contributions to the region’s construction industry.

Peter Brink ’62, who retired in December after serving since 1989 as vice president of programs at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., has been honored by the organization with the establishment of the Peter H. Brink Award for Individual Achievement. The award recognizes an individual who has made contributions toward saving an historic place.

Wendy Becker ’87, the new London-based group chief marketing officer and the first woman to join the executive committee of international mobile communications group Vodafone, has been named one of the “Top 50 Women to Watch in World Business” by the Financial Times.

Nate Fick ’99, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, has been named to the GQ list of the “50 Most Powerful People in D.C.”

John Baldwin ’59, the Syracuse University William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of Science, has earned the 2010 James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society. His work has provided scientists with experimental evidence that either confirmed or led to new theoretical models about how simple chemical reactions occur.

The Hon. Charles B. Schudson ’72, a Wisconsin reserve judge and adjunct professor of law at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin, has been awarded a five-year “senior specialist” Fulbright Fellowship for teaching law abroad.

Erika Meitner ’96, an assistant professor of English at Virginia Tech, has been selected as a winner of the 2009 National Poetry Series for her manuscript, Ideal Cities, to be published in September by Harper Perennial. Also, an essay she wrote about former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove has been selected for inclusion in Best African American Essays: 2010 (Bantam Dell).

Susan Cordaro ’94, an associate at Simpson Thacher in New York City, has been honored with a 2009 Above & Beyond Pro Bono Award by the Sanctuary for Families. Through the nonprofit Cordaro has provided pro bono legal representation and advocacy on behalf of victims of domestic violence.

Tracey Deer ’00 has earned two Gemini Awards—for “Best Writing in a Documentary Program or Series” and the Canada Award, honoring mainstream programming that reflects the racial and cultural diversity of Canada—from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for her latest film, Club Native. The Mohawk filmmaker looks deeply into the present-day reality of aboriginal identity, with moving stories from a range of characters from her home reserve of Kahnawake.