2024 Alumni Awards
Douglas James Butterworth
Lifetime Achievement Award
Douglas Butterworth (Design, 1972) is honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for a distinguished career spanning more than 50 years in design, art direction, photography, and creative leadership. A member of KU’s first graphic design graduating class, he began his career at Ackerman McQueen, Oklahoma’s largest advertising agency, before building in-house creative teams at the Williams Companies and JELD-WEN. His leadership in brand identity, publications, advertising, and showroom design has left a lasting mark on national and international corporations. Butterworth has been recognized with numerous honors, including two Williams Company President’s Awards, a National Addy Award, the Silver Link Award from the Public Relations Society of America, and the Knights of Columbus Community Life Award.
Donald E. Rosemann
Lifetime Achievement Award
Donald Rosemann (Architecture, 1976), founder of Rosemann & Associates, receives the Lifetime Achievement Award for his transformative impact on affordable housing and community design nationwide. Established in 1987, his firm has completed projects in more than 30 states and now operates from offices in Kansas City, St. Louis, Denver, and Atlanta. Rosemann has served as principal architect for more than 1,000 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit developments, creating over 50,000 affordable housing units. His work includes landmark community projects such as The Monarch and St. Michael’s Veterans Center in Kansas City and the Poehler Lofts in Lawrence. With more than 60 national and local awards, Rosemann is also an active member of the American Institute of Architects, Habitat for Humanity, and numerous civic organizations.
Fernanda Viégas
Distinguished Alumni Award – Late-Career
Fernanda Viégas (Design, 1997) is recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award for her pioneering contributions to data visualization and human-centered technology design. A leading computer scientist, she is a principal scientist at Google and co-leads Harvard University’s Insight and Interaction Lab, where she is the Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Sally Starling Seaver Professor at the Radcliffe Institute. Her career includes foundational work at the MIT Media Lab, leadership at IBM’s Visual Communication Lab, and the co-founding of Google’s Big Picture and People + AI Research (PAIR) teams. Viégas’s research and artwork, exhibited worldwide and held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, have advanced the fields of human-computer interaction and AI ethics. Her groundbreaking achievements continue to influence both academia and industry, making her a global leader in shaping technology for social good.
Jay Currie Campbell
Distinguished Alumni Award – Mid-Career
Jay Campbell (Architecture, 2011), Vice President at Multistudio in Kansas City, receives the Distinguished Alumni Award for his leadership in design, civic engagement, and community development. Campbell has shaped more than $1 billion in civic, cultural, and educational projects, including the State Historical Society of Missouri, Indian Creek Library, and Kansas City University’s Joplin campus. He has also led high-profile pursuits such as the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and KU Memorial Stadium redevelopment. Beyond practice, Campbell has guided Multistudio’s business strategy and earned recognition for firm-wide excellence. A dedicated civic leader, he serves on boards including the KCADC, KC Global Design, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum Business Council. His awards include the AIA Kansas City Emerging Professional Award and Centurion of the Year from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
Matthew Hufft
Distinguished Alumni Award – Mid-Career
Matthew Hufft (Architecture, 2000) is honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award for his influence as founder of Hufft, a nationally recognized multidisciplinary design firm. Established in 2005, Hufft has grown into a 38-person practice with offices in Kansas City and Bentonville, completing more than 800 projects across residential, commercial, and institutional sectors. The firm’s in-house fabrication studio has become a hallmark of its innovative and material-driven approach. Hufft’s projects include work for the Kansas City Art Institute, University of Arkansas, and 21c Hotels. His contributions have earned over 65 design awards, with features in Dwell, Architectural Record, Interior Design Magazine, and Forbes, which named him among the top 200 residential architects in the nation.
Lincoln Lewis
Distinguished Alumni Award – Mid-Career
Lincoln Lewis (Architecture, 2007) is recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award for his leadership in architecture, planning, and urban policy in Singapore and beyond. His career includes campus master plans and housing projects for leading institutions such as the National University of Singapore and Singapore University of Technology and Design, as well as the first privately master-planned public housing estate in Singapore. Lewis later shaped national policy with the Ministry of National Development and provided technical guidance on global projects through the World Bank. Currently completing his PhD at the University of Virginia, he continues to advance the built environment through research and international practice.
Chrissy Hill Rogers
Distinguished Alumni Award – Mid-Career
Chrissy Rogers (Architecture, 2005), principal at Arcturis in St. Louis, is awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award for her visionary design leadership rooted in sustainability, equity, and community impact. Rogers has guided numerous award-winning projects, including the Brentwood Public Library, St. Louis Science Center, and Boys & Girls Club Teen Center of Excellence. Actively engaged in professional organizations such as AIA St. Louis, Urban Land Institute, and the Missouri Gateway Green Building Council, she also dedicates her time to mentoring and volunteering with Operation Food Search, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and disaster relief efforts. Through her leadership and civic involvement, Rogers continues to inspire the next generation of designers.
Matthew Wegerer
Distinguished Alumni Award – Mid-Career
Matthew Wegerer (Design, 2001), founder and Creative Director of Whiskey Design, is honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award for his creative contributions to branding, advertising, and visual communication. Since establishing his studio in 2009, Wegerer has produced bold and innovative design work for clients across industries ranging from retail to finance. His firm’s portfolio includes campaigns that showcase layered storytelling through color, typography, and illustration. Wegerer’s work has been recognized by Communication Arts, Print, Dieline, and the American Advertising Federation, establishing him as a creative force in the Midwest design community and beyond.
Erin Lewis
Distinguished Alumni Award – Early-Career
Erin Lewis (Design Management, 2016), Vice President of Group Creative Design at Eversana, is honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award for her leadership in elevating creative standards in the life sciences industry. At Eversana, she oversees a diverse team of creatives, balancing innovation with regulatory precision to deliver award-winning campaigns. Her work includes major projects for Helzberg Diamonds, Tom’s of Maine, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Sotheby’s, and Teva. Most recently, Lewis led the ZILBRYSQ “Zillions” campaign, a national broadcast effort supporting patients with generalized myasthenia gravis, which was named Medical Marketing + Media’s “Campaign of the Week.” Her vision and dedication continue to set new standards for design in healthcare marketing.
Pennie Liu
Distinguished Alumni Award – Early-Career
Pennie Liu (Architecture, 2018), Senior Associate at Multistudio, receives the Distinguished Alumni Award for her rapid rise as a designer and her lasting impact on architectural practice and mentorship. Less than a year after graduation, she became one of the youngest licensed architects in the United States, with licensure in Kansas and Missouri. Liu’s portfolio spans K–12, higher education, civic, and workplace projects, including the award-winning Southeast Community College Academic Excellence Center and Lee’s Summit High School Renovation. In addition to her professional accomplishments, she founded the Career-Building Series in 2019, a mentorship initiative that grew into a nationally recognized program under the National Organization of Minority Architects Kansas City. Her work exemplifies a commitment to design excellence, sustainability, and growing the next generation of architects.