Five
accomplished
alumni
are
the
recipients
of
a
2022
Baldwin
Wallace
Alumni
Merit
Award,
the
highest
honor
conferred
upon
a
graduate
by
the
university.
The
award
celebrates
outstanding
alumni
for
their
achievements
and
service
to
their
profession,
community
and
alma
mater.
This
year's
recipients
are:
Steven
Caple
Jr.
'10
Film
Studies
Caple
graduated
with
a
major
in
film
studies
and
later
earned
a
Masters
of
Fine
Arts
at
USC
School
of
Cinematic
Arts
in
Los
Angeles.
He
has
quickly
become
one
of
Hollywood's
most
sought-after
filmmakers.
His
debut
feature
film
"The
Land"
premiered
at
Sundance
2016,
and
in
2018
he
directed
"Creed
II."
His
television
credits
include
"Grown-ish"
and
the
mini
docuseries
"Rapture."
He
has
collaborated
with
clients
as
diverse
as
Google,
Delta
and
the
NFL
in
the
world
of
commercial
directing.
Caple's
work
has
earned
him
multiple
directorial
awards
as
well
as
his
name
on
the
Forbes
"30
Under
30"
list.
Caple
is
a
co-founder
of
Engage
the
Vision,
a
non-profit
organization
that
helps
foster
the
new
generation
of
creative
minds.
He
remains
in
close
contact
with
BW
and
has
returned
to
campus
to
engage
with
students
about
his
career
in
the
film
industry.
Caple
is
currently
in
post-production
on
the
new
Transformers
film,
set
to
be
released
in
2023.
Richard
"Dick"
L.
Fletcher
'70,
MBA
'76
History
and
Graduate
Business
Fletcher
majored
in
history,
lettered
in
basketball
and
was
a
member
of
Phi
Kappa
Tau.
His
BW
career
began
in
admission,
leading
to
increasingly
responsible
positions
in
institutional
advancement.
In
almost
50
years
of
service
to
BW,
Fletcher
worked
under
five
presidents
and
managed
two
successful
capital
campaigns,
which
raised
more
than
$200
million
for
BW.
In
2007,
Fletcher
was
named
senior
vice
president.
He
retired
in
2020.
Fletcher
was
a
member
of
the
Council
for
the
Advancement
and
Support
of
Education
(CASE),
National
Committee
on
Planned
Giving
and
Independent
College
Advancement
Associates
(ICAA),
which
honored
him
with
the
Ernest
Sheetz
Mentor
Award.
Since
1991,
he
has
served
on
the
board
of
the
Eliza
Jennings
Senior
Care
Network.
In
retirement,
Fletcher
has
volunteered
as
a
50th
Reunion
Ambassador
and
was
the
keynote
speaker
for
BW's
Fall
2021
Commencement,
where
he
received
an
Honorary
Doctor
of
Humane
Letters
degree
for
his
impact
on
BW
and
in
the
community.
Thomas
"Tom"
Olak
'92
Political
Science
Olak,
who
is
honored
posthumously
with
the
Alumni
Merit
Award,
earned
a
Bachelor
of
Science
in
political
science
with
a
minor
in
business.
He
was
a
resident
assistant
(RA)
and
student
body
vice
president,
responsibilities
he
held
while
battling
Hodgkin's
lymphoma
his
junior
year.
His
career
began
with
McDonald
and
Company
Investments
before
his
future
father-in-law
invited
him
to
join
the
family's
automotive
wholesale
and
retail
business,
Parts
Distributors,
in
Norwalk,
Ohio.
The
business
expanded
and
remained
in
the
Conway-Olak
family
for
three
generations
until
it
was
sold
after
his
passing.
Olak
is
remembered
for
his
service
to
the
community
in
many
organizations,
including
the
Norwalk
Rotary
Club,
the
Milan
Lions
Club
and
the
Masons,
among
others.
Additionally,
he
served
as
president
of
the
Norwalk
Area
Chamber
of
Commerce,
the
Norwalk
Economic
Development
Corporation
and
the
Milan
Library
Board
while
overseeing
a
$1
million
expansion.
He
generously
gave
his
time
to
BW
as
a
member
of
the
Alumni
Council
for
several
years;
his
legacy
continues
through
his
twin
daughters,
Regan
and
Kaitlynn,
who
are
current
students.
Kathleen
(Kathy)
Papp
'96,
MBA
'02
Communications
and
Graduate
Business
Papp
earned
a
Bachelor
of
Arts
in
communications
and
was
a
member
of
Zeta
Tau
Alpha
(ZTA)
sorority.
Since
graduation,
Kathy
has
remained
deeply
involved
with
ZTA,
serving
as
a
local
alumnae
officer
and
advisor
of
the
BW
chapter.
She
is
also
a
ZTA
district
president
for
Ohio,
a
role
responsible
for
overseeing
nine
alumnae
chapters
across
the
state.
Papp
works
in
information
technology
as
a
manager
with
KeyBank.
As
the
leader
of
her
team,
she
oversees
three
teams
across
the
country
while
excelling
in
process
design
and
administration
and
interpersonal
connections.
She
is
co-chair
of
the
Northeast
Ohio
chapter
of
Key
Women's
Network,
a
women's
group
at
KeyBank
that
supports
career
development,
mentoring
and
coaching,
networking
and
business
development
initiatives.
Papp
is
an
involved
member
of
Women
for
BW
and
Alumni
Council
and
served
actively
in
the
former
BW
Women's
Club.
Randale
Richmond
'04
History
Richmond
earned
a
Bachelor
of
Arts
in
history
from
BW
and
a
Master
of
Education
in
higher
education
administration
and
student
personnel
from
Kent
State
University
in
2006.
As
a
BW
student,
Richmond
was
a
member
of
the
varsity
football
and
track
and
field
teams
and
was
active
in
the
Black
Student
Alliance
and
Buddy
System.
Richmond's
career
in
athletics
and
student-athlete
academics
and
compliance
began
at
Kent
State.
In
2015,
he
was
named
the
senior
associate
athletic
director
at
Old
Dominion
University
(ODU),
where
he
founded
ODU's
first
Student-Athlete
Leadership
Academy.
Richmond
later
returned
to
Kent
State
as
director
of
athletics,
his
current
position.
Throughout
his
career,
Richmond
has
been
recognized
as
an
advocate
for
his
field.
His
many
accolades
include
"40
Under
40
Club"
in
Kaleidoscope
Magazine,
"Who
to
Watch
in
Education"
in
Crain's
Cleveland
Business
and
an
ODU
President's
Diversity
Champion
Award
(2018-2019)
among
others.
Richmond
is
also
a
graduate
of
the
NCAA
Leadership
Institute.
As
a
BW
alumnus,
he
has
returned
to
campus
as
the
keynote
speaker
for
the
Obie
Bender
Awards.
