Class of 2002/03
The College of Business honored the first inductees into its Alumni Hall of Fame in 2002. Each year the College will name a small number of alumni to the Hall of Fame from nominations submitted by alumni, friends, faculty, and staff. Alumni are recognized for significant career accomplishment and outstanding service to others. A committee of faculty and staff assembled by the dean chooses the honorees from those nominated. The inductees are honored on a permanent plaque in the College of Business.
Inductees
Chuck Bay
Chuck Bay, earned a bachelor's degree in management in 1979, also graduated with a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, and is president and chief executive officer of KANA Software, Inc., Menlo Park, California. He has demonstrated service to the University through the Bay & Wells Silicon Valley Internship Program that he established in 2001 in the College of Business with his wife, Marlene Wells '79, and also with a $3 million in-kind gift from KANA of customer relationship management software and support staff time to assist the college and University in its installation and use.
His managerial talents have been evident as he has guided KANA and its predecessor firm, Broadbase, through challenging markets and economic conditions.
Larry Clore
Larry Clore, who earned bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration in 1969 and 1970, is president of MultiAd in Peoria, which creates, produces, and distributes advertising materials for local media and retailers around the world. MultiAd is responsible for 90 percent of all food ads and 80 percent of all auto ads in the United States newspapers.
Clore has served his community through numerous board memberships, and the University in many ways, including being former president of the College of Business Advisory Council, the Department of Technology Advisory Board, and the Redbird Education and Scholarship Fund Board. He also is a member of the Illinois State University Foundation Board.
Doris Howell Crank
Doris Howell Crank earned a bachelor's degree in business teacher education in 1943 and as professor emerita of business education at Northern Illinois University, became one of the most prominent names in business education in the United States during her academic career of more than 40 years.
After teaching at the junior high and high school levels and earning master's and doctorate degrees at Northwestern University, Crank was on the faculties of Illinois State Normal and Northern Illinois Universities. She was active in professional organizations at the local, state, and national levels, becoming president of most of them, and she became well known through her writing and editorships of textbooks, publications, and professional journals.
Stan Ommen
Stan Ommen, who earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1963, also holds an MBA from the University of Illinois. Ommen is president and chief executive officer of State Farm Financial Services, a position he took in 1997 after a distinguished banking career of more than 30 years. Ommen, who is a member of the Illinois State University Board of Trustees and the Comprehensive Campaign Steering Committee, as well as chairman of the Illinois State Foundation Board, has an extensive list of service activities to his community and University. In 1996 he was honored by the University with the E. Burton Mercier Service Award.