NKU announces recipients of 2025 Alumni Awards

January 13, 2025 - Northern Kentucky University will recognize five distinguished alumni and faculty at the annual Alumni Awards on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. Gaby Batshoun, Joe Meyer, Julie Kirkpatrick, Jenny Collopy and Steve Newman will be honored for their outstanding achievements and distinguished service to the community at the Alumni Awards Dinner and Celebration. Visit the Alumni Awards website to register and for more information.

What: Alumni Awards Dinner & Celebration

When: Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Where: NKU Student Union Ballroom

"We are thrilled to celebrate this year's honorees, whose remarkable contributions have significantly enriched both NKU and our community," says NKU President Dr. Cady Short-Thompson. "Their dedication to their professions and their outstanding achievements make us incredibly proud to have them as part of our esteemed alumni and faculty."

Gaby Batshoun (’92) is the recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award, which recognizes an alumnus who has enhanced NKU’s image through their success and accomplishments.

Gaby Batshoun is the President and Founder of Global Business Solutions, Inc. (GBS), the region’s only fully integrated technology solutions provider that offers expertise in IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, physical security, AV integration and more. Through his leadership, Gaby has cemented GBS as a cornerstone of the business community, driving innovation and creating employment opportunities across the Greater Cincinnati area and northern Kentucky region.

Gaby earned his degree in manufacturing engineering technology and electronics engineering technology in 1992. Since graduating, Gaby has remained connected to NKU by fostering meaningful collaborations with the university and its students through innovative partnerships, mentorships and initiatives. Beyond his professional success, Gaby is an active and committed member in his community. Gaby serves on several prominent boards, including the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the NKU CIS Board, Children’s Advocacy of Northern Kentucky, Faith Community Pharmacy and St. Anthony of Padua Church. Gaby and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Alexandria, Kentucky with their three children.

Joe Meyer (’79) and Julie Kirkpatrick (’10) are the recipients of the Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes alumni who have contributed time, talent and effort toward enhancing the quality of life at NKU or their community.

Joe Meyer previously served as the Mayor of the City of Covington, Kentucky, and recently finished his second term in office. With nearly 50 years in public service, Joe has served at nearly every level, including as a board member and attorney for local schools, on the House and Senate in the Kentucky General Assembly, as Secretary of the Education & Workforce Development Cabinet under Governor Steve Beshear and in an international capacity as an international elections observer in 10 countries. During his career, Joe prioritized education and workforce development, advocated for Covington and the urban core and championed diversity and inclusion.

Joe’s legacy in Covington includes right-sizing the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project and fighting against tolls; the Read Ready Covington early childhood literacy initiative; the Covington Connect free public Wi-fi initiative; the modernization of policies and ordinances; and the redevelopment of the 23-acre former IRS site, future home to NKU’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law and University of Kentucky Medical School. Joe earned a bachelor’s degree from Bellarmine University in Louisville and a master’s degree in urban affairs from St. Louis University. He also earned a law degree from NKU’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 1979, and completed Harvard University’s program for senior executives in state and local government.

Julie Kirkpatrick is the President and CEO of meetNKY, an organization that drives quality of life and economic growth for northern Kentucky through tourism marketing and destination development. Through meetNKY, Julie collaborates with partners in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Cincinnati region to position northern Kentucky as an important, must-stop tourist destination. Julie also created one of the first tourism development projects in northern Kentucky, The B-Line, a bourbon-focused experience that positions the region as the gateway to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Previously, Julie was president of the Kentucky Chapter of Meeting Professionals International.

Julie graduated from NKU in 2010 with a degree in organizational leadership. She currently serves on multiple organization boards including the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati Music Festival and the Kentucky Tourism Industry Association. Julie grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and is a Certified Tourism Ambassador for the Cincinnati region, an Executive Bourbon Steward and a Certified Destination Management Executive. She has been recognized for her achievements with numerous honors including the 2022 Northern Kentucky Chamber’s Unity Award, the Cincinnati Chapter of PRSA’s 2024 CEO Communicator of the Year and the Cincinnati Business Courier’s 2024 Women Who Mean Business.

Jenny Collopy (’08, ’10) is the recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumna Award, which recognizes alumni who have graduated within the last 10 years or who are younger than 40 years old and who have contributed to enhancing the quality of life at NKU or their community, or who have distinguished themselves through professional achievements.

Jenny Collopy is the Vice President and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at The Christ Hospital Health Network, a role she stepped into at just 36 years old. Jenny’s leadership has directly impacted patient outcomes and institutional success through initiatives including a groundbreaking nurse recruitment campaign during a national staffing crisis in 2021 and a community initiative to equip first responders with life-saving automated external defibrillators that significantly increased cardiac event survival rates in 2024.

In 2023, Jenny was named a Centennial Women of Impact, one of only four women in the country, after her nine-week campaign raised more than $100,000 for the American Heart Association’s Woman of Impact Campaign, and inspired others to take action to improve their health and well-being. Jenny was also awarded the Northern Kentucky Young Professional Next Generation Leader Award and named to the Cincinnati Business Courier’s 40 Under Forty list. She currently sits on the American Heart Association Executive Leadership Committee, the REDI Cincinnati Board, the Sam Hubbard Foundation Advisory Board and the St. Catherine Board of Catholic Education. Jenny is a proud wife to Kenny, and a dedicated mom to Keegan, Kenzie, Carter and Caleb.

Steve Newman is the recipient of the Faculty/Staff Strongest Influence Award, which recognizes a faculty or staff member whose teaching, counseling or advising had a strong and lasting impact on NKU students and the university.

Steve Newman is a Professor of Mathematics at NKU, and earned his bachelor’s degrees, master’s degree and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Utah. Before his time at NKU, Steve taught mathematics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The most impactful aspect of Steve’s career are his efforts to improve the college readiness of Kentucky high school students in mathematics.

Steve served as co-director of the Kentucky Early Mathematics Testing Program, a collaboration between Kentucky universities, colleges and high schools to improve the mathematical preparation of high school sophomores and juniors through an exam that measures their preparation for college-level work. Steve also spearheaded the Kentucky Online Testing Program (KYOTE), which created a statewide online exam that helps high school students avoid remedial mathematics courses in college. The program contributed to a rise in college readiness rates, which rose from 34 percent of all public high school graduates meeting benchmark test scores in 2010, to 60 percent in 2016. The program was so successful it was chosen as one of five model college readiness programs in the nation by the New England Board of Higher Education.

NKU is proud to honor our distinguished alumni and faculty with these awards in recognition of their service to the university and our community. To learn more about the Alumni Awards Dinner and Celebration, visit our website.