The University of Saint Francis Alumni Awards Celebration honors award recipients who reflect the University’s mission of excellence and service, and bring pride to Saint Francis. They are impressive citizens of their communities, their actions reflect the importance of their education and they demonstrate pride, loyalty and support of Saint Francis, the Alumni Association and its activities. Here are this year’s winners:

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
Distinguished Alumnus: James Bettcher (BBA ’03)
As an offensive lineman at the University of Saint Francis (1999-2002), Bettcher was a two-time NAIA Coaches All-American. In his senior season, he received the team’s Silver Helmet Award for leadership, coachability and performance on the field. He also competed on the school’s track and field team, earning five All-America honors. He was inducted into the Saint Francis Hall of Fame in 2012. Bettcher began his coaching career at Saint Francis, then coached with the Indianapolis Colts, the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants before joining the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 as a linebackers coach. USF Football Offensive Coordinator and 2005 alumnus Adam Sherman accepted the award in James’ honor since he could not attend in person.

Cougar Spirit Award: Jeff Dollens (BA ’99)
Dollens thrives in the design and print industry as a leader, creator, teacher and influencer—and finds time to work as a Cougar basketball coach. Dollens inspires college athletes to work together as a team to overcome adversity and reach higher goals, nurtures the creativity in students to better prepare them for successful careers and guides talented designers along a creative path to solve design challenges and produce engaging marketing materials for clients.

Distinguished Young Alumna: Thamay Paw (BA ’19)
Paw is from a family of refugees who journeyed from Myanmar to the United States via Thailand. Understanding the significance of networking and volunteerism, she’s found profound fulfillment and contributed to impactful projects within Fort Wayne. Her deep-rooted passion is to transform our city into a welcoming haven for all newcomers, guided by the Franciscan values of service to one another, society and the Church.

Distinguished Service Award: Kara Mankey (ASN ’05, MSN ’15)
Mankey is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and the founder and director of Unfailing Love Clinic in Decatur. She was part of the adjunct faculty at Saint Francis for a few years, helping with BSN and MSN students, and currently teaches at the MSN suture lab. Mankey is also a preceptor for MSN students as they work through their MSN curriculum and continues to provide healthcare for the underserved in her community.

Distinguished Honorary Alumni Award: David Johnson, Ph.D.
Dr. Johnson is a board-certified clinical nurse specialist (adult mental health), holistic health nurse, licensed clinical social worker, licensed marriage and family therapist, and internationally certified mindfulness professional teacher. He has been a full-time professor at Saint Francis since May 1990 and has taught in all tracks of nursing undergraduate and graduate programming. Dr. Johnson has maintained a part-time clinical practice with Parkview Health, focused on psychological trauma, family therapy, anxiety, stress, addictions and holistic care. He is also an associate with the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and a board member with their foundation, The St. Joseph Community Health Foundation. He is proud to be a catalyst for just transformation with the poor and marginalized based on the charism and spirit of St. Katharina Kasper.

Alumni Achievement Award (College of Health Sciences): Katelyn (Wieland) Schwartz (BS ’17)
Schwartz started her own business that focuses on a personalized approach to fitness. She uses holistic wellness techniques that integrate exercise, nutrition, mental well-being and self-care. Her approach uses education and empowerment to create long-term results.

Alumni Achievement Award (College of Arts, Sciences and Business): Jason Morrison (BS ’96), Andy Pyle (BA ’98) and TJ Unger (BS ’03)
The three alumni are business partners (along with two other non-alumni colleagues) with SevenGen, a company in the environmental, health and safety industries that operates in 30 states. Morrison is principal of environmental strategies and director of environmental service. Pyle leads SevenGen’s operations and service delivery. Unger champions the company’s business development initiatives, leveraging his experience and skills to lead SevenGen’s national sales, strategic account management, marketing and branding strategy to drive growth and impact.