Community members gave Edward Vernon “Ned” Nunes Jr. ’73, P’08 a standing ovation after he was honored with the 2019 Alumni Award in a ceremony last Friday.
In his speech, Nunes described his experience countering substance-abuse disorders as a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute. He currently investigates strategies to improve patients’ adherence to medication treatments for opioid-use disorder to counter the opioid epidemic as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) HEAL Initiative (Help End Addiction in our Lifetime).
Nunes said, “I think about Hotchkiss all the time as I go about my work, especially the humanities courses, where I learned to think about complicated situations, challenge assumptions, play with ideas, and the example and leadership of the faculty.”
The Alumni Association has honored alumni who have distinguished themselves in their fields with the Alumni Award annually since 1931. While any member of the community can nominate a candidate for the award, a committee on the Board of Governors makes the final decision.
During last Friday’s ceremony, Mr. Tom Seidenstein ’91, president of the Board of Governors, said, “The Alumni Award at its best should inspire in each of us the opportunity to make an impact on the globe and is many ways an embodiment of the school’s motto: ‘Guided by each other, let us seek better paths.’”
The Alumni Association’s other major prize, the Community Service Award, will be awarded in the spring.