The Alumni Awards honor outstanding alumni and community leaders whose talents and expertise make a significant impact as they continue to live the Thomas More mission. We are pleased to announce the 2024 Alumni Award honorees.

Professional Achievement Award

This award honors alumnus/alumna whose career has reached a level of excellence in their respective field of endeavor and is recognized as such by peers and other contacts. For 2024, two alumni were given this award: Dr. Michael Gieske ’80, physician director Lung Cancer Screening at St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Scott McIntyre ’97 – partner, BakerHostetler LLP.

Dr. Michael Gieske

Gieske, a family medicine physician for over 37 years, serves as director of Lung Cancer Screening and Physician Advisor Advocacy at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. Gieske has been a lung cancer screening program leader for over eight years. He graduated from Thomas More with a Bachelor of Arts in biology in 1980. 

Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the country, killing as many as breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined. Under his leadership and the participation of a fantastic team, over 710 cases of lung cancer have been discovered through over 45,000 screenings. Two-thirds of those cancers were found early, resulting in a 90% cure rate. The screening program hit a milestone this spring, with 400 Stage 1 cases diagnosed, and it’s only gotten better since then. 

He and his team have advocated and secured passage of state lung health legislation in Kentucky in 2022 and 2023. He was a driving force behind the Breathe Easy NKY coalition that helped the Northern Kentucky cities of Bellevue, Dayton, Highland Heights, and Corbin become smoke-free communities, receiving the David B. Stevens, M.D. – Smoke-free Advocate of the Year Award. 

He is advancing his team’s transformative and life-saving work on a regional, national, and international stage, saving countless lives through this endeavor. He is literally screaming from the mountaintops to bring hope to all at risk for and with lung cancer.

Scott McIntyre

McIntyre is partner at BakerHostetler LLP. He is a certified specialist in employment and labor law by the Ohio State Bar Association. McIntyre studied history and pre-legal studies at Thomas More before attending the J. David Rosenberg College of Law at the University of Kentucky to receive his Juris Doctor. As a student at Thomas More, McIntyre was highly involved on campus, including serving as student government president, was a James Graham Brown scholar and fellow, and won the top leadership award for graduating seniors. 

He leads BakerHostetler’s Cincinnati Labor and Employment practice and the Employee Privacy Team. Among his many professional accolades, McIntyre is a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation and holds the highest rank awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, signifying the highest professional achievement and adherence to ethical standards by peers in the legal community. He was ranked by Chambers USA as one of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in Employment Law for over a decade. McIntyre was appointed by the Supreme Court of Ohio to two terms on the Ohio Commission for the Rules of Practice and Procedure, is a pro-bono volunteer representing veterans before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and is a mentor to many new lawyers. He also engaged in his community through volunteering on boards and coaching youth teams with his local parish and the Summit Country Day School.

Citizenship Award

This year’s award which honors alumnus/alumna making a significant impact on the welfare of their community through service and leadership and have committed themselves to the integrity, concern for justice, and service to others for which our spiritual patron and namesake – Saint Thomas More – is so justly renowned, is given to Kenneth Reis ’72

Kenneth Reis 

Reis has dedicated much of his life to preserving and sharing history, particularly that of his community in Grant’s Lick, Kentucky. Married to Janet Barth Reis for 52 years, together they have three sons and eight grandchildren. Ken’s journey began with his education at St. Thomas School, then onto Thomas More University where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in art education. From there, Ken pursued a master’s in art education from the University of Cincinnati. He was first in his family to attend college, funding his education by working at Alber’s Supermarket. Ken taught art to middle school students in Kentucky for 32 years before retiring in 2004 and later worked for the Cincinnati Museum Center Children’s Museum for a decade. 

In 1974, Ken moved to a small farm in Grant’s Lick, where his passion for history took root. He began researching his family history, tracing it back to 1670 in France. This interest extended to local history, leading him to establish a museum on his farm in 1980. The museum, featuring artifacts and two restored 1800s log cabins, has welcomed hundreds of visitors annually for free for over 40 years. 

Ken co-founded the Campbell County Historical and Genealogical Society in 1990, serving as president for 27 years. He played a key role in opening the Society’s office, research library, and museum at the Alexandria Courthouse. His commitment to community history also included overseeing the State Historical Markers Program in Campbell County for a decade. 

Ken’s contributions extend to beautification projects, such as the creation of a welcome park and a community lending library. In 2020, he organized a celebration of Grant’s Lick’s 225th anniversary, attended by 1,000 people. Kenneth continues to work on a history book of the area, with plans to complete it by 2025.

Thomas More University Service Award

Awarded to an alumnus/alumna or friend of the University who has provided continued service to the University. This award recognized extraordinary service in terms of time, energy and expertise rather than financial support. Terry Connor ’92 was tapped to receive this award.

Terry Connor

Connor currently serves as vice president and director of athletics at Thomas More. He received his bachelor’s degree in history and went on to obtain a master’s degree in education from Xavier University in 1996. His first year working at the Thomas More was 1997. He and his wife, Michelle, a 1994 graduate, reside in Covington, Kentucky with daughter Jalee (2020 graduate), and son Braden (2021 graduate). 

Terry is the son of the late Jim Connor, who served as head baseball and basketball coach as well as athletics director from 1979-90 and is the man for whom the Connor Convocation Center is named. Terry enters his 26th year serving as athletic director with a record through the 2024-2025 year of 3,742 – 2,356 – 7 over 6,000 games. Under his direction, the institution has 25 consecutive years of at least one team advancing to a national tournament up until the 2022-23 academic year. This is the 31st time such a feat was accomplished in the last 33 years by Thomas More. He oversees 30 highly competitive sports teams and is leading the University through the transition into Division II of the NCAA.

Lasting Influence Award

This award honors a faculty or staff member, past or present, who provided a positive and lasting impact on the lives of students and was a role model for life in society as well as in career choice of students. Congratulations to John Cimprich ’71.

John Cimprich

Cimprich grew up in southwest Ohio and now lives in northern Kentucky. After earning three history degrees (Bachelor of Arts at Thomas More, Master of Arts and doctorate at Ohio State University), he was a temporary research fellow at the Andrew Johnson Papers, plus a temporary instructor at Ohio State University and Southeast Missouri State University. From 1985 to 2016 he worked at Thomas More University where he taught surveys in World Civilizations, U.S. History, ancient western history, and geography; upper-level U.S. courses; and seminars on historiography and once on Lincoln. Professional activities have covered a wide range, including three books and numerous essays in the field of the American Civil War period. His 1977 dissertation evolved into to his first book, “Slavery’s End in Tennessee, 1861-1865” (1985). The other books were “Fort Pillow, a Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory” (2015) and “Navigating Liberty: Black Refugees and Antislavery Reformers in the Civil War South” (2023). John held the positions of chairperson for both the History Department and the Humanities Division several times. Also, he served Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society as councilman, advisory board member, and chapter adviser. Having retired as professor emeritus, he still enjoys hiking, swimming, reading, writing, and traveling.

Emerging Leader Award

Awarded to a young alumnus/alumna who exemplifies outstanding leadership skills. The honoree for 2024 is Sierra O’Bryan ’13.

Sierra O’Bryan

O’Bryan is a software engineer at Clubhouse, specializing in native Android development. With nearly a decade of experience in the tech industry, O’Bryan has worked across a diverse range of companies, including Fifth Third Bank, Kroger, Procter & Gamble, as well as Twitter and Clubhouse. She takes pride in building user-facing products that help people. 

O’Bryan holds a Bachelor of Science in physics and a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Thomas More, a Master of Science in physics from the Ohio State University, and is currently completing an Master of Science in computer science at Northern Kentucky University. After graduating from Ohio State, she transitioned into the tech industry. She is passionate about building beautiful, user-friendly Android apps, sharing her expertise with the community, and mentoring aspiring mobile developers. O’Bryan is a Google developer expert for Android, reflecting both her technical knowledge and community outreach. She regularly presents on topics including mobile accessibility, mentorship, Android development, and machine learning to audiences of all levels. 

O’Bryan launched the Cincinnati Network of Women Who Code and previously served as the Leadership Fellow for the global mobile track. Additionally, she has held leadership roles with getWITit as the co-president for Cincinnati and the organization’s director of technology. She is currently a Women Techmakers ambassador and the co-chair of the Emerging Leaders Council for Southern & Central Ohio Breakthrough T1D. She has been recognized as a Women to Watch finalist by the Circuit, a Next Generation leader in technology by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, and a STEMfluencer by the Gaskins Foundation.

Legacy Award

Newly established, this award posthumously honors the impact that alumnus/a, faculty, staff, or friends of the University made on the institution during their lifetime. Remembered as beacons of inspiration in the pursuit of the meaning of life, their place in the world, and their responsibility to others while they were with us and beyond. This year, Sr. Loretto Marie Driscoll ’39 receives this award.

Awarded posthumously, Sr. Loretto Marie graduated from Thomas More University (then Villa Madonna) with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She continued her career at Thomas More serving as an English professor, chair of the English department, and head librarian during her tenure at the University. Her nominator stated, “Because of Sister Loretto Marie’s encouragement and support, I was able to achieve a 30-year career as a high school English teacher and secondary principal.. I owe so much of my career to the support of [her].”