ECC Foundation to honor scientist at Founders' Day event

From his humble beginnings growing up on a dairy farm in Udina, Illinois, Dean Follmann's educational and professional career is punctuated by many notable accomplishments.

The latest accolade is being named Elgin Community College's 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award winner.

Follmann will be recognized during the ECC Foundation's 21st annual Founders' Day Celebration on Sunday at the college's main campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.

While studying at ECC, Follmann worked mornings at the Pingree Grove bull barn and evenings at Ponderosa Steak House. He graduated in 1977 with an associate in arts degree in psychology.

Follmann went on to earn bachelor's degrees in mathematics and psychology and a master's degree in mathematics from Northern Illinois University. He also earned a doctorate in statistics from Carnegie Mellon University in 1985.

His professional career began at the Center for Naval Analyses, a Navy think tank where he worked on weapons systems reliability, logistics and manpower planning. He later studied cardiovascular disease and led an infectious diseases and immunology group at the National Institutes of Health.

Today, Follmann is associate director for biostatistics at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases specializing in the design and analysis of clinical trials, particularly dealing with infectious diseases in Africa. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Royal Statistical Society and has published more than 200 manuscripts in biology, medicine, and statistics. He also mentors other scientists and shares his expertise as a guest lecturer.

In 2015, he earned the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service as part of an ebola clinical research response team.

ECC also will recognize several community leaders and philanthropists during the Founders' Day event. Honorees include:

• Exceptional Friend of the ECC Foundation Award: Grand Victoria Casino and the Grand Victoria Foundation.

• ECC Friend of Education Award: The Bryant Crawford family.

• ECC President's Lasting Impact Award: Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce President Carol Gieske, Herb Porter, Pat Szpekowski and Jeff Turner, who also attended ECC's culinary program.

To register for the event or make a donation in honor of an award recipient, call (847) 214-7377 or visit elgin.edu/foundersday.