News

Paying It Forward

By Shelby Sheehan-Bernard   |   January 22, 2012

Elmhurst College has awarded one of its highest honors to three alumni whose academic lives at Elmhurst prepared them to dedicate their professional lives to helping others.

During the President’s Appreciation Dinner on December 4, the College awarded the 2011 Founders Medal to lifelong educators Dr. William F. Fraccaro ’70 and Joyce (Ferlazzo) Fraccaro ’70; and to Dr. Richard Nyako ’67, a neurologist who returned to his native Ghana to establish a clinic serving people with limited access to medical care.

One of the highest honors at Elmhurst College, the Founders Medal was established in 1978 to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves through service to the College. This year’s recipients continue this tradition with their outstanding contributions, both personal and philanthropic, in support of the College’s mission.

Joyce and William Fraccaro have been actively involved with the College since their first day on campus, which, incidentally, was also the day they met. As Dean of the Faculty Alzada Tipton explained when presenting their awards, the Fraccaros “found each other on the campus they call home” and “have spent their lives helping others and loving their Alma Mater.”

William Fraccaro majored in psychology at Elmhurst, and earned a doctorate in school administration from Vanderbilt University. He went on to serve for three decades as a teacher and administrator specializing in math, science and assessment. Since his retirement in 2004, he has worked as an educational consultant and serves as a guest lecturer and adjunct faculty member at the College. He received the College’s Alumni Merit Award in 2009.

Joyce Fraccaro majored in speech pathology at Elmhurst and continues to work as an elementary school speech-language pathologist. The Fraccaros consider their commitment to the College a reciprocal one.

“Elmhurst was very influential in establishing our careers, and also helped to build us as people,” William Fraccaro said. “Since then, we have been trying to pay it forward, so other young people have the same opportunities we have had.”

The Fraccaros are members of the President’s Society and Meusch Society philanthropic groups at the College, and are active alumni representatives. They also have contributed to the Health and Science Initiative, which supports the new science center, and have established two Light of Knowledge scholarships for Elmhurst students.
   
Richard Nyako arrived at Elmhurst College in 1963 with only a suitcase. A native of Ghana, he has overcome countless obstacles, including childhood polio, to pursue an education.
 
“Dr. Nyako exemplifies the Elmhurst spirit and is truly an example of how one person can change the world,” Dr. Frank Mittermeyer, director of the Dennis J. Patterson Center for the Health Professions, said at the award ceremony.

Nyako graduated from Elmhurst with a degree in chemistry, and earned a medical degree and Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Illinois. After practicing in clinics and hospitals around Chicago, he established a neurology practice in Tampa, Florida, where he also supported free clinics and treated many elderly and low-income patients.

His retirement in 1992 meant anything but rest. He returned to Ghana and, determined to provide access to quality medical care, established the nonprofit Ghana Neurological Foundation. The foundation has since opened the Center for Neurological Diseases.

Nyako has extended his generosity to the College as well, creating the Foreign Student Scholarship Fund to support students majoring in math and science. He received an honorary doctor of science degree from Elmhurst in 2008, in recognition of his work in Ghana and the U.S.