Keller-Krikava and Plutchak honored as 2009 Outstanding Alumni
by Contributor | May 21, 2013 | Fox Cities Campus
When the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley celebrates its 2009 commencement ceremony at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 21, the UW-Fox Valley Foundation will announce its "Outstanding Alumni Awards" for this year. Jerry Iverson, president of the Foundation, is scheduled to make the presentations to two individuals who went on to highly successful academic and professional successes after leaving UWFox.
The two alumni being recognized this year are Keller-Krikava and T. Scott Plutchak.
Marne Keller-Krikava earned her Associate of Arts and Science Degree at the UWFox in 1989. She continued her education at UW Oshkosh, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations with a business emphasis. She received her Master of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership and Quality from Marian University. As Director of Strategy & Business Planning at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. in Neenah, WI, the nation's leader in regulatory publishing services, Keller-Krikava is responsible for corporate strategy and has multi-million-dollar profit and loss oversight of new market initiatives.
While growing up, Keller-Krikava was very close to her grandparents for whom giving back to the community was a priority. Their exemplary acts of generosity and kindness in addressing critical needs in the community left a deep impression on her. She vowed to carry on their giving traditions by committing herself to serve organizations where she can make a profound difference.
Keller-Krikava is an astute business woman and a valued member of J. J. Keller's executive team, as well as a loving and caring mother and wife. She still finds time to share her talents with countless area organizations such as the local Girl Scout Council, serving as its chair and subsequently being elected to the Girl Scout National Board of Directors. She also serves on the Boards of Directors for the Women's Fund, the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region and the J. J. Keller Foundation, Inc.
In addition, she has served on the University of Wisconsin Medical School–Fox Valley Advisory Board and the ThedaCare Quality Council. Other organizations that have benefitted from her volunteer involvement are the Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Appleton Medical Center, The Building for Kids, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, American Field Service and Junior Achievement.
Keller-Krikava's understanding of and empathy for children with mental health issues led her to take a leadership role in establishing a collaborative and innovative program that provides pediatric mental health services locally – the Fox Valley Children's Mental Health Center.
After attending UWFox in 1974-1975, Plutchak earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master of Arts Degree in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Plutchak's path to a distinguished career as a medical librarian began with a post-graduate fellowship as a Library Associate at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, MD. He stayed at the NLM as a technical information specialist for several years, before moving to the Health Sciences Center Library at St. Louis University (St. Louis, MO), where he served as its Director from 1990 to 1995.
Since 1995, Plutchak, a resident of Birmingham, AL, has been the Director of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Associate Professor in the Health Informatics Program of UAB's School of Health Professions.
He has been very active professionally, serving on numerous committees and task forces of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries and the Medical Library Association. During the spring of 2009 Plutchak completed a three-year term as a member of MLA's Board of Directors, and is currently participating for a second time as a mentor in the NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows program.
From 2000 to 2006, he was the editor of the Journal of the Medical Library Association, the premier scholarly journal for health sciences librarianship. Plutchak is a distinguished member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals. In 2000, he was named Academic Librarian of the Year by the Medical Library Association.
He is an internationally recognized and sought-after speaker on topics ranging from intellectual property to the future of librarianship and publishing, and has served in a variety of roles as consultant to scientific, technical and medical publishers.
Diane Abraham
diane.abraham@uwc.edu