The psychology department’s candidate for this year’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Award, Scott Racine, is being recognized for his contributions to Bradley.
The award was created in 1996 as a way for the College of the Liberal Arts and Sciences to recognize the achievements of accomplished alumni. It is an annual award, with nominations coming from the alumnus’ former department of study.
“It’s actually a very remarkable class of graduates from that year,” psychology department chair Timothy Koeltzow said. “It’s fun because they remain somewhat close all these years later.”
Racine is a Bradley graduate from the class of 1972 and a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.
After Racine graduated from Bradley, he worked for several years in social work in Peoria and Chicago. From there he went to law school, becoming a partner in a prestigious law firm.
“The thing is, he’s spent all this time in Los Angeles and we didn’t really know necessarily what he had been up to and what he was doing, until he got involved with the Hollywood internship program with the [Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts],” Koeltzow said.
Racine has sponsored study abroad programs as well as special summer experiences for psychology students, according to Koeltzow.
“Really, the common theme of what Mr. Racine has supported is really just providing opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t be possible, whether it’s getting students to Europe for a study abroad they otherwise couldn’t afford or being able to do an internship or research experience they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do,” Koeltzow said.
The psychology students who benefited from this, junior Dallas Garrison and senior Blair Engerman, are both working on research projects in collaboration with the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.
“I was able to apply for a grant through the psychology department to be funded for that [research assistantship],” Engerman said. “So, it’s kind of like an unpaid internship, but that was through Mr. Racine, so his generous donations made that possible.”
Both students worked as research assistants in studies involving psychology.
“[The grant] really helped mainly with funding for me to continue living close to campus and close to [the college of medicine] to allow me to be able to do any of the research,” Garrison said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to afford to be in the area so his grant really helped me be able to gain this sort of research experience.”
Racine has a real passion for helping Bradley students and for the university itself, according to Koeltzow.
“When he starts talking about Bradley, he just lights up,” Koeltzow said. “He is so passionate about Bradley. When he came [to the award ceremony], he brought his son, in part because his son has been hearing about Bradley his entire life and this was his first time to be able to see it.”
