Carson-Newman presents Roach, Carroll and Stokes with alumni honors

^{Carson-Newman President J. Randall O’Brien, right, congratulates recipients of the University’s alumni awards during a special dinner held in their honor. Standing with O’Brien are, left to right, Cecil Stokes, Outstanding Young Alumnus Award; Dr. Diana Carroll, RR. Turner Spirit of Carson-Newman Award; and Dr. Steve Roach, Distinguished Alumnus Award.}

(April 29, 2014)– Carson-Newman University recognized three outstanding alumni during its Alumni Awards Banquet held April 28, in the University’s Stokely Memorial Cafeteria.

Dr. E. Steve Roach, class of 1972, is this year’s Distinguished Alumnus. The Outstanding Young Alumnus distinction went to Cecil Stokes, a 1997 alumnus. Dr. Diana D. Carroll, class of 1969, received the R. R Turner Spirit of Carson-Newman Award.

“These honorees have carried the Carson-Newman ideals of truth, beauty and goodness with them into their diverse professional fields,” said Amy Reed, C-N’s associate director of Alumni Relations. “And be it in education, medicine or entertainment, they have all invested themselves in helping make the world better. That is the essence of the Carson-Newman experience.”

The Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes Roach for his distinction in the field of pediatric neurology. Roach holds the Robert F. and Edgar T. Wolfe Foundation Chair in Pediatric Neurology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He is a tenured professor pediatrics and neurology at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, where he also serves as vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics and chief of the Division of Child Neurology.

He is the immediate past president of the Child Neurology Society and the author of over 200 published works and eight textbooks, one of which received a British Medical Association honor. In 2013, he became editor-in-chief of the medical journal Pediatric Neurology.

A world-renowned expert on strokes in children and young adults, Roach is also sought out as a lecturer on genetic neurological diseases. After graduating cum laude from Carson-Newman with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and biology, he graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and trained in pediatrics and neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Earning this year’s R. R. Turner Spirit of Carson-Newman, Carroll has been a family and consumer sciences faculty member since 1977. She has taught consumer services and overseen Duncan Hall Cooperative Management and Housing Laboratory’s education program and hospitality, as well as served on scores of committees, task forces and councils. During her years as the Kappa Omicron Nu Beta Xi Chapter advisor, the group won an unprecedented 24 national awards for excellence. Moreover, Carroll is the only person ever to receive the organization’s Outstanding Advisor Award twice.

She earned a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee and her PhD from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She retires this year after 37 years of service.

Named 2014’s Outstanding Young Alumnus, Stokes founded Tentmakers Entertainment in 1999. His work includes A&E’s “America’s Castles,” “Three-Day Weekend” and “Blue Ribbon.” He then went on to produce several documentaries and feature films.

Accolades for his efforts include an Emmy, a Telly, Cable Ace and Communicator awards. Honors for “A Man Named Pearl” have included two Heartland Film Festival awards, a U.S. State Department recognition and honorary mention at Cannes Film Festival. “October Baby” captured the 2011 Red Rock Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize as the Best Fiction Feature.

Dr. Steve Roach

Dr. Diana Carroll

Cecil Stokes