The Fresno State Alumni Association honored alumni for significant contributions to society, including an international humanitarian and a professor with 55 years of service under his belt, during its 2022 Top Dog Alumni Awards ceremony on Sunday night.

The ceremony awarded recipients during a one-hour televised special on ABC30. It’s an annual awards ceremony that has been recognizing Fresno State alumni since 1953 for their work that has honored Fresno State . Outstanding alumni from each college were acknowledged, as well as the alums who took the top two prizes.

Steven Were Omamo, whose former organization World Food Programme won a Nobel Prize in 2020 for its dedication to feeding the hungry, took the Top Dog Outstanding Alumni award for exceptional accomplishments in an alumni’s field.

Omamo, one of 16 siblings in a family who lived in a sugar cane farm in western Kenya, and was expected to work on the farm after college. He was recommended to go to Fresno State by a high school counselor, and his father approved of the decision due to the impact of California agriculture. 

After arriving in Fresno in the summer of 1982, Omamo ended up majoring in agriculture business and realized he wanted to go to graduate school rather than return to the farm. His father supported his decision. 

“Agriculture… It’s not a theory, it’s really something that families are built on; but also something that needs attention and improvement from the public sector,” Omamo said in his honoree bio, calling that the “theme of his career.”

In 2006, Omamo ended up joining the United Nations’ World Food Programme, eventually serving as the representative and country director to Ethiopia, during which time the organization earned the Nobel Peace Prize.

“When we were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I could understand why ”” because the people of the World Food Programme are quite unique in their bravery and commitment to do whatever it takes to get food to people who need it,” Omamo said.

He has since transitioned to the consulting firm New Growth International, which provides policy, strategy and more to clients with a focus on agrifood and education industries in Africa.

Sudarshan Kapoor, professor emeritus and founder and inaugural director of Fresno State’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program, received the second major award, the Arthur Safstrom Service Award, for alumni and friends of the university who have made an impact through their time and talent. 

Having grown up in Punjab, India, Kapoor said he participated in multiple demonstrations and marches as a college student that “laid the foundation of activism in his life,” according to his honoree bio. The major influence and teachings of Gandhi, in particular, has “always been a part of [his] life.”

After obtaining his master’s degree in India, Kapoor left in 1962 for the Netherlands, eventually moving to Florida and then Toronto, Canada, until his former professors in Florida State took note of his work and invited him to come with them to Fresno State in 1967. He has now been with the university for 55 years.

In that time, he taught social work and community development, founded the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, served on Fresno’s Human Relations Commission, was a founding member of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence and served on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Committee, for which he has led an annual march from Fresno City Hall to the Fresno Memorial Auditorium that attracts thousands each year.

“I belong to Fresno State, and Fresno State belongs to me,” Kapoor said.

Outstanding alumni were also selected by each college and division to honor.

Jacquelyn Glasener, executive director of the Fresno State Alumni Association, called the awards ceremony an “inspiring” event.

“This year’s class of honorees represent what it truly means to be a Bulldog, and we are excited to celebrate their successes with the university and community,” she said.

The 2022 Top Dog Outstanding Alumni Award honorees are:

• Distinguished Alumnus: Steven Were Omamo (1986), president, New Growth International; former director, UN World Food Programme.
• Arthur Safstrom Service Award: Sudarshan Kapoor, professor emeritus and founder of the Peace Garden at Fresno State.

 Outstanding Alumni by College or Division:

• College of Arts and Humanities: Ray S. Doumanian (1967, ’82), former president, HR, LLC and Jacqueline Doumanian (1974, ’82), educator; community advocate.
• College of Health and Human Services: David Pomaville (1986), director of environmental health and safety, Caglia Enterprises, and former director of public health for Fresno County.
• College of Science and Mathematics: William R. Silveira (1999), oncologist, Community Cancer Institute, Clovis Community Medical Center.
• College of Social Sciences: Ana Jovel Melendez (2005), director of legislative affairs, State Water Resources Control Board.
• Craig School of Business: Joshua Easterly (1998), co-founder, partner and co-president of Sixth Street and is chairman and CEO of Sixth Street Specialty Lending.
• Department of Athletics: Rod D. Higgins (alumnus), National Basketball Association veteran and vice president of basketball operations, Atlanta Hawks.
• Division of Research and Graduate Studies: Philip Neufeld (1993, 2015), executive officer, enterprise services, core infrastructure, cybersecurity, learning analytics, Fresno Unified School District.
• Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management: Sabahudin Tricic (1999, 2006), foundation faculty, University of Kansas Grantham.
• Henry Madden Library: Jason A. Hubbart (2000, 2002), professor and director, West Virginia University.
• Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology: James W. Nielsen (1967),  California State Senator, 4th District.
• Kremen School of Education and Human Development: Violet L. Chuck (1978), executive director, Educare Services Inc.
• Lyles College of Engineering: Joseph F. Pickett (1994), president, Pickett & Sons Construction, Inc.