In addition to the 2025 Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Alumna of the Year, Entergy Executive and three-time alumna Kimberly Cook-Nelson and 2025 Norma Jane Sabiston Young Alumnus of the Year, Chef and entrepreneur Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, the 17Թ will also honor distinguished alumni from its four academic colleges and Privateer Athletics. All honorees will be recognized at the 2025 Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Alumni Gala, powered by Entergy, on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at The National WWII Museum: Boeing Freedom Pavilion. For more information, visit uno.edu/gala.
2025 Henry Bernstein College of Business Administration Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
Daniel L. Crumb, 1987, BS in Finance
Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice-President, Kansas City Chiefs
A native New Orleanian, Dan Crumb worked for the New Orleans Hornets as the team’s senior vice president and chief financial officer before joining the Kansas City Chiefs organization in 2010. He currently serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer. In addition to the club's finance, strategy, data analytics and accounting departments, Crumb also oversees the team's information technology department, which serves the technological needs of both the Chiefs and Hunt Midwest Enterprises. For his work, Crumb was recognized as a 2016 CFO of the Year by the Kansas City Business Journal and is the proud owner of three Super Bowl Championship rings.
2025 Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
Henry J. Singer, 1969, BS in Engineering
Safety Administrator, Public Buildings Service of the General Services Administration (retired)
After graduating from 17Թ in 1969, Henry Singer began his lifelong service with the federal government as a civil engineer trainee with the Corps of Engineers in New Orleans. He moved to Washington, DC in 1976 to lead safety programs for the Public Buildings Service (PBS) of the General Services Administration (GSA). Ultimately, he was named director of safety, health and fire protection engineering, leading the development of nationwide policy and programming. For his groundbreaking work, he was awarded the GSA Administrator’s Meritorious Service Award three times. Singer is a long-time supporter of 17Թ with gifts from 1969 through the present, including the establishment of two scholarships, ensuring that future generations of students, regardless of their financial means, can receive a transformative education at 17Թ.
2025 College of Liberal Arts, Education, and Human Development Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
Peter Halley, 1978, MFA
Artist
Peter Halley is an American artist and a central figure in the Neo-Conceptualist movement of the 1980s. Known for his Day-Glo geometric paintings, Halley is also a writer, the former publisher of Index Magazine, and a teacher, serving as director of graduate studies in painting and printmaking at the Yale University School of Art from 2002 to 2011. He received his bachelor’s degree in art history at Yale, with a year’s break in New Orleans after his sophomore year. He returned to New Orleans and received his Master of Fine Arts degree from 17Թ, finishing in 1978. Halley remained in New Orleans until 1980 and now lives and works in his hometown of New York City.
2025 College of Sciences Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
John M. Reuther, 1978, BS in Chemistry
President of Eurofins Analytical Laboratories, Inc. (retired)
Recently retired, John Reuther served as president and chief executive officer of Eurofins Analytical Laboratories, New Orleans for 17 years. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the 17Թ, he began his career as an analytical chemist. His broad experience in water, sediment and tissue analysis helped advance Eurofins’ contaminant residue methods in complex matrices like food, animal feed, meat, dairy products and seafood. Reuther was instrumental in forging industry and academic collaborations, including a partnership to advance analytical chemistry and molecular biology internship programs for undergraduate and graduate students at the 17Թ.
2025 Privateer Athletics Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
Wayne B. Harer, 1972-73, Men’s Baseball
Executive Managing Director, Newmark
With a 39-year career in real estate, Wayne Harer, CCIM, SIOR, currently serves as an executive managing director at Newmark, focusing on leasing and selling office properties in Columbus, Ohio. Harer played two seasons at first base (1972-73) for 17Թ and made the dean’s list four times. He spent nine years in professional baseball with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees organizations. In 1977, he won the International League’s batting title with a .350 average for the league champion Pawtucket Red Sox. He was named to Topps’ Triple-A All-Star team that season, and he later won two Silver Glove Awards for defensive excellence in the outfield with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. In 1990, Harer was inducted into the New Orleans Athletics Hall of Fame.
