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Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2006

Kathy Olesker Pounds

Kathy Olesker Pounds received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1971. Ms. Pounds was an excellent student making Bronze Tablet, which is awarded to the top 3% of graduating seniors at Illinois. After graduation she pursued graduate work in community counseling and worked in the social services in the poorer sections of Miami. After a few years she decided to pursue a law degree and was admitted to Northwestern Law School in 1977. She joined a Miami law firm as a litigator soon after completing her law degree. In that position, she was assigned to represent an international conglomerate headquartered in New York City. Kathy switched into the communications industry and held a number of important leadership positions for fifteen years, first with GTE and then with MCI. She retired from MCI, as a Vice President in the Networks and Technologies Division.

Fred Volkmar

Dr. Volkmar is an international expert on autism and related disorders. He has published over 100 empirical articles and his research has been funded by the National Institute of Health, The William T. Grant Foundation, as well as numerous organizations focusing specifically on autism and related disorders. He received his B.S. in Psychology from the UIUC in 1972, graduating with High Honors and Highest Distinction in Psychology. While at Illinois, Dr. Volkmar was a James Scholar and nominated to Phi Beta Kappa. He also was awarded the Psi Chi National Prize for Undergraduate Research in Psychology. His first publication appeared in Science, and was based on research he conducted here at Illinois with Dr. William Greenough. After graduating from Illinois, Dr. Volkmar went on to obtain a masters degree in Psychology from Stanford University while simultaneously completing an M.D. at the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1976. After completing his M.D., Dr. Volkmar completed his Residency in Psychiatry, also at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Since 1982, Dr. Volkmar has had a number of academic appointments at Yale University where he currently is the Irving B. Harris Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Pediatrics. He has received numerous awards and honors including being named a fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology and receiving the Blanche F. Ittelson Award from the American Psychiatric Association.