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October 2008
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ALUMNI PROFILE |
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Meet This Year's Alumni Recognition Award Winner Although he isn’t what you might normally picture when you think of a cheerleader, this year’s Alumni Recognition Award winner, Ronald Boots Nissenbaum, KSB/BS ’68, has a long history of bringing people together and rallying them for a good cause. Whether he’s volunteering as an AU admissions representative, leading the Philadelphia alumni chapter (2002-2006), making a gift as a generous donor, or driving down from Philly to attend yet another AU Men’s Basketball game as a loyal season ticket holder, Boots has made an impression on hundreds of alumni, faculty, and students in the AU community. Nissenbaum has been actively engaged in campus life since he first set foot here. He decided to come to AU after he found out his high school friend Dick Kirschner, SPA/BA ’68, was attending. “Smartest decision I ever made,” he says. While here, he was the social chair of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, active in the marketing club, and a regular participant in the rowdy fan section at AU basketball games. Now, 40 years later, he has nothing but great memories of his college days – many involving his ZBT brothers. “I realize that American University and my experiences there were a determining part of my life….Just because college ends, doesn’t mean you have to lose touch. I thank American University for the experience, and I give back.”
Nissenbaum was surprised when he got word he had been selected for this year’s Alumni Recognition Award. “I didn’t feel like I had done anything special...It’s nice to be recognized for doing what I enjoy doing—recognizing American University any way I can.” Nissenbaum insists he's not the only one deserving of this award. He’ll share it with his entire ZBT group. “I’m just the connector,” he protests. “It’s really about the group.” The ZBT’s from the 1960s and 1970s had their first reunion in 1985. At this reunion Nissenbaum decided he was going to make sure the group stayed in touch. “I said, ‘I’m going to get this done’ because I wanted to see my friends and I wanted to stay in touch,” he remembers. Since then, they’ve had a reunion every five years; the next one is planned for 2010. The last three reunions have had a great turn-out, with nearly 150 ZBT brothers and their guests returning to campus for drinks, meetings, and camaraderie.“ I haven’t seen another group that gets together like we do,” Nissenbaum remarks. The ZBT brothers have also established a scholarship to leave a lasting legacy at the school that brought them all together. The group has collected more than $82,000 for the Zeta Beta Tau/Donald Brenner Scholarship. “We’re really the only group who’s done anything like that,” Nissenbaum remarks. “It’s our way of leaving a permanent legacy.” When asked if he considers himself to be inspirational—one of the fundamentals of this award—Nissenbaum responds with a resounding, ‘no.’ “But I guess I’m inspirational to the guys I went to college with….This ZBT group has chosen to stay together, and if I was the inspiration for that, then that’s great. I was just the catalyst.“ As fellow ZBT brother Charles Inlander, SPA/BS ’69, remarks, “It’s great that Boots won this award. He’s head and shoulders above others in support for the school.” - Heather Buckner The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes alumni who inspire the world around them through service to the community or a philanthropic mission. All 2008 alumni awards will be presented at the Port & Politics Reception during Alumni Weekend on Saturday, October 25. For more info, visit http://alumni.american.edu/alumniweekend. | |||||
