2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards

Stacey Benson ’90 (psychology), President & CEO of Benson Psychological Services, obtained her Psy.D. in clinical psychology from the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology. Benson has been in the psychology industry for over 25 years, previously working at the North Dakota Department of Human Services for 12 years, 10 of which she was the chief psychologist. She then taught at North Dakota State University. In 2005, she founded Benson Psychological Services, and in 2014 she co-founded the Sex Offender Treatment and Assessment of North Dakota, a nonprofit teaching men and women coming out of the prison system the skills they need to reintegrate into the community and lead a law-abiding life.
As a forensic psychologist specializing in risk assessments, she has trained corrections departments in three states and has testified in state, federal, and military court.

Tim Connolly ’78 (mass communications), Assistant News Editor at Dallas Morning News is a career newspaper journalist who earned a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in international journalism from the University of Southern California, where he was a graduate fellow in the Center for International Journalism’s Latin America Program.
Connolly has worked at newspapers across the country, landing at The Dallas Morning News, where he has worked for over 30 years as an assistant news editor, reporting internationally from Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Belize, Bahamas, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Connolly currently works with the wire services and the news staff resources dedicated to the Mexico/Texas border region to coordinate national, foreign and immigration-related reports.

Lonni Schultz ’82 (computer science & mathematics), Senior Research Biostatistician, Henry Ford Health Systems has worked as a biostatistician in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan since 1984, and is currently the Section Head for the Design and Biostatistics Core within the department. During her time at Henry Ford Hospital, she has been the author or co-author on over 160 medical publications in many different disciplines. She also serves on the Henry Ford Hospital Internal Review Board (IRB) which provides ethical reviews for all medical research protocols involving human subjects.
Since 2000, she has served on numerous National Institute of Health (NIH) scientific review study sections and is currently a permanent standing member for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke study section. She is also the department’s representative to the Henry Ford Medical Group Operations Council.

Andrew Conteh, Retired MSUM Professor is a former faculty member in MSUM’s Political Science Department. A native of Sierra Leone, Professor Conteh attended Christ the King College West Africa in Sierra Leone, Oxford University in Great Britain, and received his Ph.D. from Kiev State University in the Soviet Union. In addition to extensive academic experience around the world, Professor Conteh served as Sierra Leone’s ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1981, as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, as deputy high commissioner to the United Kingdom, and as senior assistant secretary in Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A specialist in international relations, his interests focus on international law. He was also integral to the development of the university’s Student Academic Conference, which celebrated its 25th year in 2023.

Jennifer Glenski, ’13 (mathematics), Director of Product Management at BMC Software is a rising leader in AI and technology, with experience leading impactful technology projects across education, healthcare and government. She leads IntelliDyne’s AI and Machine Learning Practice and was a part-time faculty member at Georgia Tech, where she earned her M.S. in analytics. In 2021, she was honored by the Northern Virginia Technology Council as a top leader in technology with their Tech100 NextGen Leader Award for driving tech innovation and making a positive impact in the region.
As part of her role, Glenski is the program manager and technical lead for building an intelligent assistant for networks and data centers on submarines using innovative technology. She also provides analytics and technical support to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Glenski models leadership in the technology community by volunteering as a speaker and mentor in AI workshops and hackathons and participating in professional technology groups and committees.