Academics
Alumni
It is open to the campus and community and will include remarks by Alumni Director Danielle Driskill and Alumni Association President Thom Watts.
The Meritorious Achievement Award will be presented to distinguished physician Dr. Frank Villamaria and to longtime educator Glenn Coltharp (posthumously).
The Dr. Ralf J. Thomas Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Gorilla supporter and alumnus Dan Alcala.
Glenn Coltharp, PhD, a posthumous recipient of the Meritorious Achievement Award, completed 40 years in the education profession. He died in 2024. Accepting his award will be his wife, retired longtime math professor Hazel Coltharp.
The Missouri State House of Representatives and the Missouri Senate honored his contributions to education with resolutions in 2022. He also was awarded an honorary doctorate by Missouri State University in recognition of his service to the public sector, both in education and to the citizens of Southwest Missouri.
Coltharp taught in, developed, and led programs from preschool through graduate school at the Pre-K-12, community college, and university levels.
He served in numerous capacities as a leader in higher education, including as vice president of academic affairs and as president of Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri; and as dean of the School of Education, head of the Department of Teacher Education, and professor of Teacher Education at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.
He has served at the K-12 level as superintendent, assistant superintendent, middle school principal, elementary school principal, and principal of the Missouri State School for Severely Handicapped.
As a classroom teacher, he taught kindergarten, second grade, and fourth grade.
In May 2024, he was given the Distinguished Alumni Award by the USD 250 Pittsburg Community Schools Foundation.
Coltharp earned his BS from Pitt State in 1981, his MS in 1983, and his EDS in 1985. In 1989, he earned a doctorate from Kansas State University.
Dr. Frank Villamaria, a recipient of the Meritorious Achievement Award, has led a distinguished career not only as a physician, but as a leader in the U.S. Navy and as a member of the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine, where he serves as clinical professor.
He also serves as vice chair of anesthesiology services for Baylor Scott & White South Region in Temple, Texas, and for many years taught anesthesiology at Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine.
He began serving in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps in 1982, first as a flight surgeon. During Operation Desert Storm, he was promoted to Lt. Commander to head up the Naval Hospital in Millington, Tennessee.
From 1991-2018, he served as Commander of the U.S. Naval Reserve Medical Corps. At retirement, he achieved the rank of captain.
He served in numerous leadership roles at the Scott & White Memorial Hospital and the Scott, Sherwood, & Brindley Foundation in Temple, including as a senior staff anesthesiologist, head of the cardiovascular anesthesia section, and an associate medical director.
Villamaria is highly published and is a member of numerous professional societies.
He has been recognized with several awards including the Bruce W. Jackson Memorial Award for Reserve Flight Surgeon of the Year from the Association of U.S. Naval Flight Surgeons and the Claudia Potter Outstanding Clinical Faculty Award from Texas A&M.
Villamaria earned a BA from Pitt State in 1977, graduated from the KU School of Medicine in 1980, and earned a master’s degree in public health from Texas A&M in 2003.
Dan Alcala, recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, has served the university in a variety of capacities. He never misses an opportunity to attend an alumni event in the Wichita area and encourages fellow alumni to attend.
From 2008-2014, he served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, including a term as president during which he traveled to numerous Gorilla Gatherings and engaged alumni.
Since 2024, Alcala has served on the university’s Hispanics Advisory Council and provides valuable insight.
He has served as County Champion for the Wichita area, helping the Office of Alumni & Constituent Relations with programming and events.
He continually supports the Silverback Fund, the School of Construction, and Pitt State Cheer.
In 2022, he became a member of the Heritage Society at Pitt State.
A former member of the Pitt State Cheer team, he’s a frequent attendee at Carnie Smith Stadium and at Gorilla athletic events held in the Wichita area.
During the pandemic when in-person alumni events were limited, Alcala helped orchestrate two drive-through Southeast Kansas fried chicken dinner alumni events in Wichita, distributing 275 dinners wearing his gorilla costume dressed in his 50-year-old Pitt State Cheer team uniform.
When President Dan Shipp biked Kansas in Summer 2023, Alcala biked between Wichita and Hutchinson with him wearing that same costume and uniform.
Professionally, Alcala worked in the construction field. He is a retired project manager from The Law Company, Inc. in Wichita.
