The SIU Alumni Association will honor Col. Niki J. Lindhorst, a 1995 Southern Illinois University Carbondale graduate and decorated officer with the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, along with 11 other distinguished alumni — including members of the Little Rock Nine — at ceremonies next month.
Lindhorst will receive the 2025 SIU Distinguished Alumni Award, the association’s highest honor, during an invitation-only ceremony at 3 p.m. Oct. 3 in Morris Library’s John C. Guyon Auditorium. A reception will follow in the Hall of Chancellors and Presidents.
Nominations are solicited from fellow alumni, colleagues and community members, and those chosen are selected by a committee of members on the association’s national board of directors. Alumni of distinction awards will be presented in Young Alumni Achievement, Innovation, Volunteer Excellence, Saluki Spirit, and Diversity and Inclusion categories. The association also recognizes a student annually with the Outstanding Student Achievement Award.
Through the years, the association has recognized hundreds of alumni whose professional achievements, personal integrity and community service reflect the best of former SIU Carbondale students.
Honorees and their awards are:
Col. Niki J. Lindhorst (Distinguished Alumni)
Lindhorst, who graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, has served nearly three decades in the Air Force and Space Force, culminating in her current leadership position as director of operations, Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She oversees joint and command-level wargames and exercises, weapon system operational tests and evaluations, doctrine development, basic military training and education programs for the Space Force.
Her career includes top-level assignments at the Joint Staff, Headquarters Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office, as well as deployed service as operations officer to NATO Training Mission Afghanistan. She has also served as a faculty member at the USAF Air War College and as the Air University Commandant’s senior service representative. She has received numerous accolades, including the Bronze Star Medal for distinguished service in Afghanistan and two Legion of Merit medals for exceptional conduct as Space Delta 13 commander and director of operations at STARCOM.
Lindhorst is a dedicated supporter of SIU through scholarship donations, campus visits to mentor students and ROTC cadets, and participation in the university’s oral history project. She also contributes extensively to public service as a Girl Scout leader, church volunteer and STEM advocate, inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and space.
“My foundation for a career in service began at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where my studies in psychology and the leadership training I received through Air Force ROTC Detachment 205 instilled in me the critical thinking and problem-solving skills and a deep sense of duty that have been instrumental throughout my journey from second lieutenant as a nuclear launch officer to colonel as the director of operations at Space Training and Readiness Command,” she said.
Blake Noland (Young Alumni Achievement)
Born and raised in Blue Mound, Illinois, Noland, a 2010 graduate in agricultural systems, is the eighth generation of his family to work their row crop farm.
Noland is the founder of Birddog Workforce Scouting, a recruitment consulting firm that specializes in connecting companies in the skilled trades and agricultural industries with young talent. Through Birddog, he develops feeder systems, training programs, career-focused content, and headhunting services.
Driven by a passion for guiding young people toward purposeful careers, Noland also established the Rural Workforce Development NFP, a faith-based nonprofit that offers hands-on skills camps, scholarship resources, resume tools and internship opportunities for 16- to 21-year-olds. His work continues to equip the next generation with the tools and direction needed to thrive in the workforce.
Jeff Lawber (Innovation Award)
An award-winning product designer and founder of The Office of Design and Development, Lorber earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in industrial arts in 2003. His Portland, Oregon-based studio serves clients including Nike, Adidas, Jeep and Warner Brothers, and Lorber describes his work as a blend of form, function and storytelling, creating compelling user experiences in such areas as retail and education.
In 2020, he applied his passion into the toy industry and introduced Marmals, a line of modular, magnetic art toys that merge creativity, storytelling and mindful play. Originally developed for his own children, Marmals are both playthings and educational tools in shows, museums and classrooms nationwide, reflecting Lawber’s commitment to design that sparks imagination for all ages. The toys have earned national recognition, including appearances at Toy Fair Dallas and the New York Toy Fair, multiple TAGIE Award finalist honors and accolades such as Best in Show at ToyFest.
Teresa and Tim McCarthy, Mark “Matt” Jennings (Volunteer Excellence)
Teresa and Tim McCarthy have dedicated time to supporting the association’s alumni chapter activity in the Springfield, Illinois, area as part of the Prairie Capital Alumni Networking Group. The group’s services include hosting events for alumni throughout the region and fundraising for scholarships to help new generations of local students attend SIU Carbondale. Jennings, a longtime family friend, has been instrumental in helping coordinate activities and area gatherings among alumni.
The McCarthys met at SIU in 1982 and describe their SIU connection as generational. Their children, Jack and Megan, also attended SIU. Teresa McCarthy’s parents both worked for SIU — her mother, Gloria, was an account executive to Clarence “Doc” Dougherty, director and later vice president of campus services, and her father, Robert “Rip” Stokes, was the university photographer.
Teresa McCarthy, who graduated in 1987 with a degree in clothing and textiles, is a youth service coordinator for Springfield Public Schools District 186, where she supports high school students with disabilities in planning for life after graduation. Tim McCarthy, who graduated in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, has spent 35 years with Midland Paper and Packaging, providing consulting and expertise in printing and product packaging to clients across central and Southern Illinois.
Jennings who earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and government in 1990, has more than 20 years’ experience in commercial lending and banking, and is the deputy director, Division of Banking, for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Jennings previously served as the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s EDGE tax credit program manager, as well as downstate coordinator for the Advantage Illinois loan participation program.
Lois Kay and John “Jack” Wissmann (Saluki Spirit Award)
Since both retired in 2011, life for the Wissmanns has centered on SIU and Carbondale, particularly local live music and Saluki athletics. The Wissmanns are season ticket holders for SIU football and men’s and women’s basketball, and it’s also common to see them enjoying other Saluki sports including soccer, softball and volleyball and proudly wearing Saluki maroon in the stands. They call SIU a “Wissmann Family Tradition, ” boasting 10 degrees from the university between them, their two sons, Chris and Aaron, a daughter-in-law and other family members.
Lois Kay Wissmann graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1962 and began her career in teaching. She met Jack Wissmann in the Chicago suburbs, and the two returned to Carbondale so he could complete his SIU degree in marketing in 1969. Jack Wissmann went on to a five-decade career in sales, marketing and logistics in the consumer products industry while Lois Kay Wissmann worked in business administration. She later became a national advocate for breast cancer research following her own bouts with the disease. She worked as hotline counselor and later as a government relations manager for the Y-ME National Breast Cancer organization, advocating regularly for research dollars with such entities as the National Health Council, Cancer Leadership Council and National Patient Advocacy Foundation.
Terrence Roberts, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Thelma Mothershed Wair (Diversity and Inclusion Award)
Before Terrence Roberts, Minnijean Brown Trickey and Thelma Mothershed Wair became Salukis, they were members of the Little Rock Nine, a group of Black students who bravely integrated Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in 1957, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Each of the nine students earned the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian award, in 1999.
Roberts, a former SIU faculty member, earned his doctorate in education from SIU Carbondale in 1977, and he received a Distinguished Service Award in 2021. In a 2003 SIU Alumni Association article, he described his time on campus as “three profitable, educational, and enjoyable years.” Roberts spent his career as a clinical psychologist and has held academic posts at Pacific Union College, the UCLA School of Social Welfare and Antioch University. Prior to coming to SIU, Roberts earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University and a master’s degree from UCLA.
Now retired, he continues to lead dialogues about race as the CEO of Terrence Roberts Consulting, a management consulting firm. His wife, Rita Roberts, a 1975 SIU graduate in journalism, is a professor of history and Africana studies at Scripps College. They are partners in Roberts & Roberts, LLC, providing consulting services to organizations wanting to engage in discussions about race. Terrence Roberts is the author of “Simple Not Easy, Reflections on Community, Social Responsibility, and Tolerance.”
Brown Trickey studied journalism at SIU and later received a bachelor’s degree of social work in native human services from Laurentian University and a Master of Social Work from Carleton University, both in Ontario, Canada. She worked in the Clinton administration as deputy assistant secretary for workforce diversity at the U.S. Department of the Interior. She received a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree from SIU Carbondale in 2007.
Mothershed Wair, who will be posthumously honored, earned her bachelor’s degree in home economics education from SIU Carbondale in 1964 and her master’s degree in guidance and counseling from SIU Edwardsville in 1970. She also received a Distinguished Service Award from SIU Carbondale in 2022, two years before her death.
She taught home economics and was an elementary school counselor in East St. Louis for 28 years before retiring in 1994. She then taught life and survival skills at an American Red Cross shelter to women without homes.
Alek Abell (Outstanding Student Achievement)
A senior majoring in biological sciences with a minor in chemistry on the pre-health professions track, Abell is an active Student Alumni Council member. He participates in a variety of initiatives designed to strengthen connections between students, alumni and the community, and he is involved in Timmy Global Health and the Pre-Health Professions Association. Beyond campus, Abell is deeply engaged in both health care and research. He works as a student certified medical assistant at the Center for Medical Arts in Carbondale and conducts research in the Nafisa Jadavji Lab, studying how genetics and nutrition influence the brain’s response to low oxygen, using fruit flies as a model. This research aims to advance understanding of conditions such as stroke and neurodegeneration. Abell also volunteers with St. Francis Xavier Church, the Murphysboro Knights of Columbus and various local outreach events.
The SIU Alumni Association accepts nominations for Distinguished Alumni awards each year. More information about the awards and to submit nominations is available at siualumni.com or by contacting the association at 618-453-2408.
