Meet the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awardees 

This past spring, the University honored four alumni with the Distinguished Alumni Awards. This year’s honorees include individuals whose professional accomplishments and societal contributions demonstrate excellence in education, information technology, and financial leadership. Though their paths differ, they share a deep commitment to giving back and lifting others.  

Michael Atkins leads with heart in Denver Public Schools 

Michael Earl Atkins (MA ’16) describes his journey in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program as a “Karate Kid” moment. At first, he wasn’t sure how all the pieces would come together—until they did.

“This whole time I was learning who I was as an individual and the values that I needed to embrace to be able to serve a community as a school principal,” Atkins says.

Atkins began his professional path as a school custodian before becoming a paraprofessional, teacher, assistant principal, principal, and now the director of Black student success for Denver Public Schools.

Before earning his Principal Licensure Certificate from the Morgridge College of Education, Atkins viewed school leadership this way: “Give me a room full of teachers, let’s look at some student data, let’s plan, and then let’s go teach.”

Now, thanks to learning from and working with his DU faculty mentors, he sees it as deeply personal and more values based.

“I don’t know who I would be as a leader, a friend, a son, a father, or a husband, without my experience at DU,” he says.

Maria Alford-Suehnholz pays it forward to DU’s next generation  

Giving back to DU was ingrained in Maria Alford-Suehnholz (BA ’84). 

“I was brought up with this philosophy of paying it forward,” she says. “My parents did it, my grandparents did it—it goes back generations.” 

After earning a degree in mass communications, she built a 30-year IT career while supporting students in the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science, as an advisory council chair and scholarship founder. She recently established an endowment within the Learning Effectiveness Program to support students with learning differences.

K. Kayon Morgan builds belonging through mentorship 

K. Kayon Morgan (PhD ’17) lives by a guiding principle: “I lift as I climb.” It has shaped her path as a scholar, leader, and advocate for inclusive excellence.

“I do not believe I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for the mentors and coaches in my life,” she says.

Now serving as vice president of inclusive excellence and belonging at the University of Hartford, Morgan’s journey to DU began with a recommendation from her husband, who had just completed the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies doctoral program and suggested she do the same.

At the Morgridge College of Education, she found a supportive community of faculty and peers, especially her advisor, Kristina Hesbol.

Today, she pays it forward by mentoring future education leaders, including current DU students.

“Mentorship means that I’m preparing students, friends, and colleagues to be global citizens in a very pluralistic world,” she says.

Morgan has this piece of advice for current students: “Don’t do it alone, lean on your village. It is so important to recognize that, in this world, we need each other.”

Transformed by DU, Dan Whittemore now helps others transform 

The University of Denver was part of Dan S. Whittemore’s (BSBA ’63, JD ’72) story long before he first stepped foot on campus.

His father attended DU on the GI Bill after World War II and chose accounting because “DU had the best program in the West.” That decision proved life-changing for the Whittemore family, transforming their financial future and opening the door for several children, including Dan, to attend the University.

“It really was a family-defining experience,” he says. Whittemore earned his undergraduate degree in business and later returned for a law degree. He credits both with shaping his professional success and lifelong connection to the University.

Now, Whittemore and his wife, Beth, champion expanded educational opportunities for students at DU. Their contributions have impacted the Sturm College of Law, Daniels College of Business, Graduate School of Social Work, and Lamont School of Music.