Each year, University of Detroit Mercy chooses an alumnus of each of its Colleges or Schools to honor as someone who has excelled in his or her profession, demonstrated outstanding leadership in work and devoted himself or herself in service to the larger community. Award recipients reflect the University’s mission of excellence and service and bring pride to their alma mater.
This year the University will celebrate seven honorees at a special ceremony Friday, Oct. 1, at the Fillmore Hotel Detroit. We will introduce the award winners on this blog before the event. If you are interested in attending the event, you can purchase tickets at udmercy.edu/awards.
For 2021, the School of Architecture will honor Joseph Coriaty who graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Architecture degree in 1978. He earned a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California.
Coriaty is a partner in the L.A., Calif.-based Frederick Fisher & Partners architectural design firm and, as managing partner with more than 36 years of experience ensures the quality of each of the firm’s projects. He is committed to empowering and promoting solutions to improve the green building community. He has led ground-breaking design with the University of Southern California’s Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy of Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation, and the renovation of Princeton University’s historic Firestone Library.
Coriaty has served on design boards and juries throughout his career and is on the Board of Trustees for Craft Contemporary, the Dean’s Board of Advisors for Detroit Mercy, and Net Zero Accelerator Advisor for the U.S. Green Building Council-LA. He has guided young architects through the intricacies of collaborative design for cultural institutions in Berlin and Japan and as a first responder after their devastating earthquake, developed the system for Haitian engineers to reconstruct their school structures quickly, safely and efficiently. He also juries and lectures at USC, UCLA, Woodbury University and Detroit Mercy.
Six other men will be honored along with Coriaty. They are:
- Clifford C. Cook ’69, ’70, College of Engineering & Science, retired Senior Vice President, Marathon Petroleum Company LLC
- Henry G. (Hank) Durkin ’73, College of Liberal Arts & Education, retired Technical Account Manager, Microsoft
- Eric J. Hespenheide ’75, College of Business Administration, retired Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Vernon R. (Ven) Johnson ’86, School of Law, Owner and Founding Member, Johnson Law PLC
- Richard Persiani, D.D.S. ’73, M.S., School of Dentistry, Affiliate Professor, Detroit Mercy Dental
- Derk Pronger ’94, College of Health Professions, COO Beaumont Farmington Hills
Check back to see their stories.
