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Show Wednesday, December 6, 2000 THE SIGNPOST Page 7 J w 1 r s are recoamzed as r r members or tne ery graduation has hundreds of students, hut other. j nere are a rew nonoraru aearees axven to aeservina community. TiCong with the fist ofgraduatesfor "August andVecemher of 2000 are some spotlights on those receiving honorary degrees. Congratulations to ad those -who have made it this jar and good Cuck in affyou dol 'MeCissa Mi lies eCC I features editor I lUe Sifliipost degrees: tie onorary By Val Seegmiller news writer The Signpost Like the wise proverb says, those who give freely will not go unrewarded. Weber State University alumnus Gary E. Close will be officially recognized next Friday by his alma mater for his donations and service with a doctorate of humanities at WSU's commencement ceremony.WSU President Paul Thompson said when he urged Close to accept the award. Close's reluctance was due to his modesty. But whether it's keeping the "snack closet" at home stocked with goodies or helping others with money with no strings attached, the retired business executive's thoughtfulness has not gone unnoticed. "Gary's favorite thing to do," wife Marty said, "is to find out what people need or what makes them happy and then fulfill their wishes." Close said there's a "selfish". aspect to generosity: It makes him happy. "I think it's the most therapeutic thing we can do." If that's true. Close should be happy as a lark. He has donated liberally to the WSU College of Health Professions, and he and Marty have set up a WSU scholarship for single parents. Close has also volunteered time, energy and money serving on WSU's National Advisory Council, Capital Campaign Executive Committee and on the Weber State Foundation. At home he spends many hours per week volunteering for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and doing free accounting for a small upstart business. But instead of flying around the country heading conferences, he now does things like painting toilets for an LDS girls' camp. Close was born and raised in the Ogden area, where as a boy he and childhood pals played "Tarzan," swinging on ropes through the trees that line the Weber River. Though his father died from the effects of alcoholism when Gary was 10 years old, his mother guided him through his youth, in which he played sports and was involved in scouting. After Close's two sisters moved out quite early, it was just he and his mom. "He was just the apple of my eye," recalled his mother. Bertha Hill. "I don't Gary E. Close mean he was a paragon of virtue," she added with a laugh, but said he was a very helpful boy. Gary and Marty met in high school and married one year into their stay at Weber State College. Close graduated in 1967 in accounting and soon began his very successful career when he landed a job with Arthur Andersen & Co. in Denver, Colo. He soon moved to another company and earned a master's of business administration from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Due to hard work and dependability, he eventually became an executive in several companies before retiring early in 1997. Close attributes his phenomenal success to simple hard work, dependability and honesty. "It had nothing to do with being very smart, because I'm not," he said. "I would accept any assignment. Nothing was beneath me. Still isn't. I don't believe in that." He said his higher-ups were inspired by his loyalty and kept promoting him. "Without question," he also said, "being one hundred percent straight-forward or honest about things was always, always the best way to go." Close said he wasn't obsessed with business like some, but kept his life balanced."He definitely has always put his children as a No. 1 priority," daughter Jamie Yager said. "There's nothing bad about him," said daughter and WSU student Amy. "Throughout growing up there never was. He was the perfect father." By jenny Lalli features writer The Signpost ,7 v- " - Larzette G. Hah Weber State University will be awarding an honorary degree to Larzette Golden Hale. Born June 8, 1920 in Idabel, Okla. Larzette has often been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the teaching and accounting professions. ; Hale graduated from Langston University in 1940 with a BS degree in business admin-istration and secondary education. That same month she married her college sweetheart, William H. Hale, who had also graduated with a major in Social Science. The Hales returned to Langston 20 years later when William was elected the 10th President, the first alumnus to serve in this capacity. The Hales received their master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin in accounting and sociology. Larzette continued her education and was the first re cipient of a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Larzette holds the honor of being the first Black woman to hold both a CPA and a Ph.D. Larzette was the third Black women in the nation to pass the CPA exam. After passing the exam in 1 95 1 , she practiced in her own CPA office for 1 0 years in Atlanta. Her teaching career began in 1943 at Bethune-Cookman College, where she taught accounting and served as the Business Administration Department Chair. She also held these positions at Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, and Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma before she and her husband joined the faculty at Utah State University, where her husband served as professor of sociology and assistant to the Dean of Students until his death in May, 1974. During her service at Utah State University, Larzette was a professor of accounting for 18 years, 13 of which she served as Head of the School of Accountancy. During her tenure she lead the School of Accountancy through general accreditation with the College of Business and Special Accounting Accreditation. She has helped place accounting graduates across the nation and abroad. She has been very active in the accounting profession, having served as National President of the Women's Society of CPAs, national President of Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Professional Fraternity. She has also served on the Board of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy, and is a member of the Council of the American Accounting Association, the Council of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Association of the Heads of Accounting Programs. By Melissa Mikesell features editor The Signpost Margaret Wheatley, the president of The Berkana Institute, is one of three people receiving an honorary degree from Weber State University during the December graduation. Wheatley is known internationally as a great speaker and writer. In 1992, her book "Leadership and the New Science" was published. The book describes a new look at how society thinks about organizations and has won many awards. More recently, the book was revised,, expanded and republished in 1999. From the book, a movie of the same name was made and also recieved awards. Wheatley obtained her doctorate from Harvard University. She also holds a M.A. in Communications and Systems Thinking from New York University. "I have always found my attention drawn in many directions, from science to history, to English literature, to systems thinking, to organizational behavior, to social policy," Wheatley said in a current press release. "I value what I've learned from each of these fields because no one discipline, institution, or specialization can answer the I ' X -., j .:. ' . ( J , - . ..,'.' Margaret Wheatley questions that now confront us. We all must draw from many different perspectives to reweave the world." She has been a public school teacher and urban education administrator and a Peace Corps volunteer in Korea. She was also an associate professor of management at the Marriot School of Management, Brigham Young University and Cambridge College, Mass. |