Bob Breakfield And Alice Burmeister To Receive Teaching Awards at Dec. 16 Commencement

Dec. 8, 2000    

ROCK HILL – Professors Bob Breakfield and Alice Burmeister both leave lasting impressions with their students.

For their accomplishments, the two will be honored Saturday at the Dec.16 commencement exercises for Winthrop University. The 11 a.m. ceremony will be held at Winthrop Coliseum. In addition, Dai Weidong, president of Shanghai International Studies University, will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Bob Breakfield, professor of business law, will receive the Kinard Award for teaching excellence. Alice Burmeister, assistant professor of art and design, is this year’s recipient of the Faculty Student Life Award.

For 24 years, Breakfield has embodied the classic definition of a successful teacher. He is knowledgeable in his field, esteemed by his colleagues and other professionals, and respected by his students.

Roger Weikle, dean of the College of Business Administration, said the former marine captain and former member of the IRS’ chief council’s office attacked his job at Winthrop with an energy that was infectious to students.

“Like everything he does, as a professor, Bob Breakfield has style,” said Weikle. “He has so much energy and enthusiasm that he has an impact on every student. For more than 24 years, he has been using his phenomenal knowledge of the law and taxation to help students prepare for life.”

Weikle said Breakfield, who also has a law practice in Rock Hill, cares a great deal about students.

“He is the most generous person I know,” Weikle continued. “No matter where I go and meet students from any era, they ask the same question with a huge admiring smile on their faces, ‘Is Mr. Breakfield still there teaching students about how to survive?’”

Throughout his tenure at Winthrop, Breakfield has been outspoken and honest, providing leadership in areas such as curriculum development and student retention and mentoring. He is a three-time winner of the Phi Kappa Phi teaching award and the recipient of the First Union Teaching Award. Breakfield’s annual evaluations by his students consistently are top ranked.

His student advocacy also extends far beyond the classroom through the scholarships he and his wife, Gay Randolph, director of the student services center in the College of Business Administration, fund in four different programs at Winthrop.

“I am very pleased to have been awarded this honor. This is a peer-selected recognition which makes it heart felt,” Breakfield said.

He earned his B.A. in business from United States International University, a J.D. from California Western University Law School and L.L.M. in tax law from Boston University Law School.

Although assistant art professor Alice Burmeister has been at Winthrop only three years, she’s already made her mark. In May 2000, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Junior Professor.

In her years at Winthrop, Burmeister has exemplified the ideal of the faculty member who gives willingly of her time and knowledge to enrich the university community. In addition to her voluminous university committee work, she has been involved in student activities such as the Martin Luther King celebration, Kwanzaa, the More Than a Month series and Student Women’s Leadership Conference.

“She has a strong commitment to promoting campus diversity, which has had life-changing effect on students helping her,” said student activities director Tom Webb.

Frank Ardaiolo, vice president for student life concurred, adding, “Dr. Burmeister's involvement with students outside the classroom have been wide ranging - from advising the Student Government Association, to giving swing lessons, to supervising Winthrop’s first international student service learning initiative in Liberia, West Africa. In all her many endeavors she has brought genuine enthusiasm and the care for student development that exemplify the Winthrop experience.”

Burmeister’s deep commitment to student activities demonstrates her fundamental belief that students realize their individual potential through participation in both academic and co-curricular endeavors.

“I feel privileged to work with such wonderful students here at Winthrop. I enjoy the opportunities to work so closely with such a vibrant and enthusiastic group of young people,” Burmeister said.