The Marshall University Alumni Association hosted the 87th Annual Alumni Awards Banquet presented by Marshall Health Network on Saturday at the Marshall Health Network Arena.
The Alumni Association, housed within the Marshall University Foundation, is dedicated to advancing the goals and objectives of Marshall University as a premier research and teaching institution. Guided by the strategic priorities of the university, the Alumni Association pursues lifelong, mutually beneficial relationships between all constituent groups and organizations resulting in optimal levels of engagement and philanthropic support.
“The Alumni Awards Banquet is a meaningful opportunity to come together and celebrate the outstanding achievements of our alumni,” said Nico Karagosian, president and CEO of the Marshall University Foundation. “It’s a time to recognize their remarkable accomplishments and to honor those who have made a lasting impact in their professions and communities. We are incredibly proud of this year’s award recipients, and they stand as representatives of what it means to be a Marshall graduate.”
Among the list of two dozen honorees at the 2026 awards banquet, the Hensley family — Tom and Jenna Hensley, and Steve and Frances Hensley, Ph.D. — received the Distinguished Alumni Award. J. Travis Donahoe, Ph.D., received the Distinguished Young Alumnus Award, Sharon Shaffer, CFA, received the Distinguished Service to Marshall University Award, and Sydnee Smirl McElroy, M.D., received the Outstanding Community Achievement Award.
Individual Awards of Distinction were presented during the event to honorees from each of Marshall’s colleges and schools. This year’s Awards of Distinction recipients were Craig Burletic and Rodney Elkins (College of Arts and Media), Chuck Oldaker (Lewis College of Business), Wilbur E. “Ed” Billups, Ph.D. (College of Education and Professional Development), Samantha Derenberger (College of Engineering and Computer Sciences), Bruce J. Brown, Ed.D. (College of Health Professions), Max Lederer, J.D. (College of Liberal Arts), Darla Hamilton McCormack (College of Science), Mathew B. Weimer, M.D. (Honors College), Susan Flesher, M.D. (Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine), and Brittany Messer, PharmD (Marshall University School of Pharmacy).
Also recognized at the event were the Alumni Association’s alumni chapters, including Amanda Ashley as Chapter President of the Year of the Marshall University Southern Coalfields Alumni and Big Green Chapter; Annapolis Marshall University Alumni Chapter as Chapter of the Year; Woodlands Alumni Chapter as Emerging Alumni Chapter; Marshall University Alumni and Big Green Chapter of the Mid-Ohio Valley as Excellence in University Support and Fellowship; Marshall University Southern Coalfields Alumni and Big Green Chapter as Excellence in Student Recruitment; Annapolis Marshall University Alumni Chapter as Excellence in Mentoring; and Marshall University 75 Family Alumni Chapter as Excellence in Scholarships.
Tom Hensley graduated from Marshall with his degree in accounting in 1970. He is an avid supporter of the Herd and a proud alumnus of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Tom built a distinguished career in the poultry industry, rising to president of Fieldale Farms — one of the largest independent poultry producers in the world — and earning national recognition, including 2024 Workhorse of the Year. In addition to his passion for Marshall, Tom is also a generous donor. He and his brother, Steve, established the Hensley Family Scholarship at Marshall in 2018.
Jenna Hensley graduated from the College of Education and Professional Development with a degree in comprehensive family and consumer science in 1971. She then completed a Master of Science degree from Winthrop University in 1987 and earned National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards in 2004. In 2021, she established the Jenna Ann Wilson Hensley Scholarship endowment at Marshall, supporting students in the College of Education and Professional Development.
Steve Hensley graduated from Marshall with his bachelor’s degree in social studies in 1970 and his master’s degree in counseling in 1972. Steve went on to work at Marshall for more than 40 years, retiring as dean of Student Affairs in 2015. He is known for his advocacy for students and visionary leadership. Steve advanced key student initiatives, including the student garden, a flu vaccine campaign, disability services and mentorship for student leadership.
Frances Hensley graduated from Marshall with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social studies, then completed her Ph.D. in history in 1981 at The Ohio State University. She then went on to work at Marshall for almost 30 years — first as a professor of women’s history, then as senior associate vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of Undergraduate Studies. She has also served on the board of directors for the West Virginia Humanities Council, The Wild Ramp and CONTACT Huntington.
Donahoe is a Huntington, West Virginia, native. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in management and a Bachelor of Science in public health from Marshall in 2016.
Donahoe went on to earn a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard University. His dissertation examining supplier enforcement interventions targeting opioid suppliers that distributed opioids to communities across the U.S. without adequate diversion controls received the Student Paper of the Year Award from the American Society of Health Economists in 2023.
He is now an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, where he uses methods from health economics to study the drivers of the opioid epidemic and evaluate policies seeking to address it.
Shaffer is a real estate developer and investor with decades of experience from both Wallick Communities, a regional multifamily housing development firm located in Columbus, Ohio, as well as Red Capital Group, a multifamily investment banking group, where she served as senior managing director of affordable housing and low-income housing tax credits.
Shaffer is currently a senior lecturer at the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University where she teaches Introduction to Real Estate, Real Estate Planning and Development, and Investments. She is also the academic adviser for Women in Real Estate, a student organization.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in finance from Marshall University where she was part of the inaugural class of the Society of Yeager Scholars. She was also on the varsity volleyball team during her time at Marshall. She earned her MBA from The Ohio State University with a concentration in corporate finance.
McElroy is a family physician with Valley Health Systems, where she serves as the medical director for Harmony House in Huntington, West Virginia. In this capacity, she was instrumental in the development of the Huntington Low Barrier Shelter (the HUB) and continues to oversee the clinical delivery of health care services for individuals experiencing homelessness. Her work centers on the integration of primary care with community-based outreach to address regional health disparities and expand medical access for the area’s unsheltered population.
A graduate of the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, McElroy completed her family medicine residency in Huntington. Beyond her clinical leadership, she co-hosts the medical history podcast “Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine” and is a New York Times bestselling author. These projects examine medical history and communicate public health information to a general audience.
Other honorees at the annual alumni awards banquet include Derek H. Anderson, DMin, receiving the Dr. Ronald G. Area “3 C’s” Award. In addition, Marshall University Black Alumni also awarded Tionna Cozart with the Fran Jackson Scholarship Award, Savannah Grant with the Nate Ruffin Scholarship Award, and Priscilla Richmond with the Janis Winkfield Scholarship Award.