Lawrence Lions Alumni Association to induct 3 into Hall of Honor

photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence High School is pictured on July 28, 2016.

The Lawrence Lions Alumni Association will induct three Lawrence High School alumni into the school’s Hall of Honor this year.

Those inductees include a pioneer in computer graphics, a leader in international public health initiatives and a public relations executive. The ceremony is slated for 2 p.m. Sunday at LHS, 1901 Louisiana St. The induction ceremony and reception are open to the public.

The three 2018 inductees are:

Z. James Czupor

A 1966 graduate of LHS, Czupor went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in mass communications from the University of Denver. He founded the InterPro Group public relations firm in 1990 with his wife, Marta Sipeki. He is also an author of short stories and novels and is a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and Mystery Writers of America.

Wendy Taylor

After graduating from LHS in 1986, Taylor studied public policy at Duke University and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is currently a Rockefeller Foundation fellow exploring investment in data analytics to identify pandemic disease threats before outbreaks occur and data technology opportunities to improve community health. In 2010, she founded the Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact for USAID and served as its director until 2017. The organization accelerates the introduction of key global health initiatives with a focus on fighting the Ebola and Zika viruses, identifying future threats and saving lives at birth. The organization helped raise $140 million for those initiatives.

Lance Williams

A 1967 LHS graduate, Williams received his bachelor’s degree at KU before enrolling at the University of Utah, then a hub for pioneering work in computer graphics. He published three works on computer graphics that would be bundled together for his thesis for his 2000 doctoral degree from the school. He made major contributions of shadow rendering algorithms and facial animation, and he invented the texture-filtering techniques used in computer graphic hardware and video games. During his career, he consulted with Jim Henson Associates, worked for six years in Apple’s Advanced Computer Technology Group and was chief scientist at Walt Disney Animation. Williams died in August 2017.

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