Faculty, staff, alumni to be recognized during Founder's Day ceremonies

Peoria, Illinois...September 27, 2002...Bradley University will observe Founder's Day on Thursday, October 3, with two events on campus.

The 106th Founder's Day convocation will begin at 10 a.m. in the Dingeldine Music Center. Members of the Bradley community will be recognized for achievements in scholarship, teaching, and service, and founder Lydia Moss Bradley will be remembered. Additionally, four alumni will be inducted into the Centurion Society. Founded in 1982, the Centurion Society honors alumni who have become national or international leaders in their field and recognizes them for achievements in business, public life, and their professions.

The Founder's Day luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Michel Student Center ballroom. The program will include the presentation of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Outstanding Young Graduate Award and the Lydia Moss Bradley Award.

Bruce P. Bagge '62 will be recognized with the 2002 Distinguished Alumnus Award and will be inducted into the Centurion Society. After graduating from Bradley, Mr. Bagge entered the financial business as a licensed stockbroker. He is the executive director of investments with the private client division of CIBC Oppenheimer in Chicago and also maintains an office in Florida. During his 40 years in the investment business, he has been named to Research Magazine's Hall of Fame and received Registered Representative Magazine's Outstanding Broker award. Matthew G. Fiascone, senior vice president of Inland Real Estate Development Corporation, will be awarded the 2002 Outstanding Young Graduate Award during the Founder's Day luncheon.

After graduating from Bradley with a bachelor's degree in economics, Fiascone began a sixteen-year career with The Inland Real Estate Group, Inc., in Oak Brook, Illinois. In his current position, he is responsible for the disposition of assets owned by investment programs sponsored by Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation as well as the purchase, entitlement and sale of corporate owned development properties. He is responsible for the largest land portfolio in the Chicago metropolitan area valued in excess of $300 million. Fiascone was named to Real Estate Chicago magazine's "40 Under 40," list this year recognizing the top 40 real estate professionals in Chicago under the age of 40.

Along with Bruce P. Bagge, the following alumni will be inducted into the Centurion Society during the Founder's Day convocation at 10 a.m.:

Howard D. McKibben '62 was appointed United States District Judge for the District of Nevada by President Ronald Reagan in October, 1984. He currently is the Chief District Judge having assumed that position in 1997.

Judge McKibben received a bachelor's degree in political science from Bradley in 1962 and a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 1964. He received his Juris Doctorate in 1967 from the University of Michigan Law School and was admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1968 where he was in private practice until he was elected District Attorney of Douglas County in 1970. McKibben was appointed to the Ninth Judicial District Court in 1977 where he served until 1984.

Dr. Nicholas P. Ninos '58 earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1958, a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1959, and concurrently met pre-medicine requirements for the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Chicago. There he obtained a degree in medicine in 1963, then completed a rotating internship, internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Cook County Hospital.

Dr. Ninos spent more than 21 years on active duty in the U.S. Army where he advanced to the rank of full colonel in 10 years. He became certified in three specialties: internal medicine, cardiology, and critical care medicine. Dr. Ninos has served on the editorial board of peer review medical journals and his work is widely published.

Nicholas Scoppetta '58, Commissioner for the Administration for Children's Services under the Giuliani administration, was appointed as New York City's 31st fire commissioner by mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on December 30, 2001. Commissioner Scoppetta heads a department with more than 16,000 fire, EMS and civilian members. His extensive experience in government and management spans more than four decades.

After spending two years in the army, Scoppetta attended Bradley and earned a degree in engineering in 1958. He received a Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School in 1962 and while attending night school, he worked by day as an investigator for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He has served on a number of boards of not-for-profit institutions including the Children's Aid Society, which serves needy children in New York City.

The institution known as Bradley University was founded in Peoria in 1897 by Lydia Moss Bradley in memory of her husband, Tobias, and their six children. Bradley Polytechnic Institute was chartered on November 13, 1896 and fourteen faculty and 150 students began classes in Bradley Hall on October 4, 1897. The Horological Department added another eight faculty and 70 students. Bradley Polytechnic Institute was formally dedicated on October 8, 1897.