Pittsburg State University will honor three alumni with its Meritorious Achievement Awards during commencement activities on Dec 15. The PSU Alumni Association established the Meritorious Achievement Award in 1958. It is the highest award based on career achievement presented by the Alumni Association. Candidates for the award must have demonstrated substantial professional growth and advancement over an extended period of time. The candidate’s activities, including participation and leadership in civic and professional organizations at the local, state, and national levels, are also considered by the awards committee in selecting the recipients.
This year’s recipients are David Pierce, a professor of law at the Washburn University School of Law in Topeka; Samuel Steele, Jr., a physician practicing urology in western North Carolina; and Richard Stilwell, the president and founding shareholder of Insight Management Consultants in Prairie Village, Kan.
David Edward Pierce BA ‘74David Edwa
rd Pierce is a professor of law at the Washburn University School of Law where he also serves as director of the Business and Transactional Law Center. A nationally recognized expert in oil and gas law, he has been a professor at Washburn since 1989, teaching property law, contract law, oil and gas law, and transactional drafting.
Pierce began his career as a solo practitioner in Neodesha, Kan., and served as the city attorney of Cherryvale, Kan., before becoming an oil and gas attorney for Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas. Before returning to his alma mater to teach, Pierce taught at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis, Ind.; the University of Tulsa College of Law in Tulsa, Okla.; the University of Houston Law Center in Houston, Texas; and the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas. He has also served as the visiting chairman of natural resources law at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
He is the co-author of “Cases and Materials on Oil and Gas Law,” which is used as a textbook by law schools across the country. He has also written, edited, or contributed to more than a dozen other books and more than 50 scholarly articles addressing legal topics.
Pierce received a bachelor of arts degree with a major in political science from Pittsburg State University in 1974. He earned a juris doctor degree from the Washburn University School of Law in 1977, and a master’s degree in law from the University of Utah College of Law in 1983.
Pierce lives in Topeka with his wife, Martha.
Samuel McDowell Steele, Jr. BS ’61, MS ‘62Dr. Samuel
McDowell Steele, Jr. is a physician practicing urology in western North Carolina. Dividing his time between office visits and surgery, he offers treatment to patients at two community hospitals located 24 miles apart in two counties.
Steele has worked at Spruce Pine Community Hospital in Spruce Pine, N.C., since 1999, after leaving the private practice he operated in that area since 1993. After graduating from and teaching in the PSU Department of Mathematics in the early 1960s, Steele enrolled at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1964. He served in the U.S. Navy as a medical officer before eventually focusing on a medical career in the southeast United States.
In addition to numerous military awards including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Joint Services Commendation Medal, Steele has also been honored for his work in medicine. He has received the Presidential Leadership Award by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, the American Medical Association’s Award of Appreciation through the Committee on Emergency Medical Services, and the Col. John F. Patton Award.
Steele is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Association of Clinical Urologists, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Military Officers Association of America, as well as many other organizations.
He graduated from PSU with a bachelor of science degree with a major in mathematics in 1961, and a master of science degree with a major in mathematics in 1962. He earned a medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1968.
He and his wife, Olivia, live in Spruce Pine, N.C.
Richard W. Stilwell, BSBA ‘70Richard W. S
tilwell is the president and founding shareholder of Insight Management Consultants, a professional services firm focused on assisting clients in their pursuit of sustained competitive success.
Before founding Insight in 1994, Stilwell served in senior leadership positions with two privately held companies and was a partner and national practice director with Touche Ross & Co., which is now Deloitte & Touche LLP.
Stilwell serves on the board of directors of the High Plains Division of the American Cancer Society and is a member of the American Cancer Society’s Chairman’s Circle in Kansas City. He is a 2005 recipient of the American Cancer Society's Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award. Stilwell has served with the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Folly Theater Performing Arts Foundation. He is a member of the PSU Kelce College of Business Accounting Advisory Board. As a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, Stilwell serves as the national fraternity's audit committee and is a 2006 recipient of the Significant Sig Award. He has a long history of many other community activities and professional affiliations.
Stilwell has been the recipient of the PSU National Honorary Award in Business Administration and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Honorary Award in Leadership. After serving with the Kansas Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserves, he was named Outstanding ROTC Graduate. Stilwell received the U.S. Army Leadership Award, and the Erickson Trophy for Distinguished Leadership and Academic Ability from the National Guard.
Stilwell received a bachelor of science in degree in business administration from PSU in 1970. He earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1973.
Stilwell lives with his wife, Constance, in Prairie Village, Kan.
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