MCC Alumni Association Names Roger Thrall 2015 Alumnus of the Year
Manchester, Conn. (December 14, 2015) – Roger Thrall, Ph.D., ’71 of Canton, Conn., has been named 2015 Alumnus of the Year by the Manchester Community College (MCC) Alumni Association. Dr. Thrall was honored at the annual Alumni Dinner and Awards Night late last month in the MCC Culinary Arts Center on the main campus.
Alumnus of the Year recognition is bestowed on MCC alumni who have achieved outstanding levels of success in their careers and have brought credit to themselves and MCC through their accomplishments.
Dr. Thrall has always credited Manchester Community College for providing him the opportunity to find his way into his life’s passion and work and regularly recommends the college as an avenue to academic success. He was nominated for the association’s prestigious honor by his wife, Marilyn Parkinson Thrall, who also attended MCC and who he in fact met while they were both students.
“Not only did we find love there, but the college instilled a love of learning that has spanned a lifetime,” Parkinson Thrall said.
Dr. Thrall first attended MCC in 1967. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1970 and then returned to Manchester Community College to complete his associate degree. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University and a Ph.D. from Marquette University and the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Thrall joined the Department of Pathology at the University of Connecticut Health Center in 1977 and was named director of pulmonary research, Departments of Medicine and immunology, in 1980, a position he has held for 35 years. He is a full professor there. He joined the faculty at Hospital for Special Care, New Britain, in 1997 as the director of clinical research and currently holds joint appointments at both institutions.
He is the author, co-editor and contributor of a number of textbooks and papers, as well as the recipient of many notable grants. He has received numerous research grants from the National Institutes of Health while also serving on the National Institutes of Health Study Sections to review new research grants.
He has received several national awards including the American Lung Association Research Award, National Institutes of Health – New Investigator Award, and the National Institutes of Health – Research Career Development Award. He continues to teach and serve on the Admissions Committee at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
Dr. Thrall is very committed and involved with Hospital for Special Care’s community outreach programs to help improve the lives of individuals with chronic conditions and special needs.
His wife and nominator – a distinguished alumna in her own right – is an award-winning sculptor and artist who created the sculpture for the Amy Toyen/September 11 Memorial at the Avon Public Library and the Sandy Hook Memorial Sculpture commissioned by the Connecticut Education Association. Parkinson Thrall chose to nominate her husband rather than herself because, as she noted, “In the many ways that Roger has pursued the various avenues of his work, the area that he is most impassioned about is teaching. His ability to reach his students, to guide them through their educational pursuits and to create an enthusiasm for learning is his strongest asset.”
For more information, visit the alumni page.
MCC alumni can also contact Diana Reid, alumni and donor relations, at 860-512-2909, or by email at dreid@manchestercc.edu. When on campus, alumni are encouraged to drop by her office in the MCC Development Office in the Student Services Center, second floor, room L202.
