Elgin Community College names 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award winner
Elgin Community College proudly announces its 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award winner Dean Follmann, PhD.
Follmann will be recognized during the Elgin Community College Foundation's annual Founders' Day Celebration on Sunday, Feb. 17, at the college's main campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.
"Like so many students and alumni, Dean's ECC experience empowered him to discover and create the path he wanted in life," said Jennifer Strohl, manager of alumni, affinity groups and stewardship. "He worked hard, directed his potential and continues to make a global impact in his professional field. Follman is a wonderful example of what can be achieved with an education that begins at a community college."
Follmann grew up on a dairy farm in Udina, Illinois, the youngest of six children. While attending ECC, he worked mornings at the Pingree Grove bull barn and evenings at Ponderosa Steak House. He graduated from ECC in 1977 with an Associate in Arts degree in psychology.
Follmann continued his studies at Northern Illinois University where he earned Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and psychology and a Master of Science degree in mathematics. He earned a Ph.D. in statistics in 1985 from Carnegie Mellon University.
Follmann's professional career started at the Center for Naval Analyses, a think tank for the U.S. Navy, where he worked on weapons systems reliability, logistics, and manpower planning. At the National Institutes of Health, Follmann studied cardiovascular disease and led an infectious diseases and immunology group.
Currently, Follmann is associate director for biostatistics at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases where he specializes in the design and analysis of clinical trials that improve human health, especially infectious diseases in Africa.
Follmann is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Royal Statistical Society and has published over 200 manuscripts in biology, medicine, and statistics. He mentors other scientists and frequently shares his expertise as a guest lecturer.
"Elgin Community College has produced many impressive graduates over the past 70 years," said ECC President, David Sam, Ph.D., JD, LLM. "We are proud to call Mr. Follmann our own and acknowledge his success through this award."
Other 2019 community leaders and philanthropists who will be recognized for their accomplishments during the upcoming Founders' Day celebration include: Grand Victoria Casino and the Grand Victoria Foundation, the Bryant Crawford family, Carol Gieske (class of '77), Herb Porter, Pat Szpekowski and Jeff Turner.
For more information about the college's alumni relations, go to elgin.edu/alumni.
To register for the 21st annual Founders' Day Celebration or make a donation in honor of an award recipient, call (847) 214-7377 or visit elgin.edu/foundersday.