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Each year, the Hamline Alumni Board of Directors honors many deserving alumni and faculty with an Alumni Association Award. The purpose of these awards is to recognize Hamline alumni and faculty who’ve been participating in groundbreaking work in their fields; highlight the impact of a Hamline education; and thank alumni and faculty for their dedication to the University. Awardees will exemplify the outstanding leadership, scholarship, and service that distinguishes Hamline alumni and faculty.
Nominations for the 2026 season are now closed. Any nominations moving forward will be placed in the 2027 selection group. Nominations last five years. Award recipients are recognized during Homecoming and Alumni Week.
This award goes to degreed alumni of the university who have demonstrated distinguished dedication and service through volunteer activities at Hamline University (e.g. on boards or committees, leadership role as a volunteer, efforts on special projects, support of current students).
This award goes to degreed alumni of the university who have done extraordinary work in their field or volunteer activities within the first 10 years after graduation.
This award goes to degreed alumni of the university who have made the connection between learning theory and putting it into practice, connecting the liberal arts education to their profession and work within the community. This person is ethical, caring, and serves society.
This award goes to degreed alumni of the university who have done extraordinary work in their field or volunteer activities.
This award goes to a current or past faculty member of the university who exhibits/exhibited exemplary teaching and/or writing in their field, and has been involved in activities reflecting support and interest in Hamline University.
From Halhul, Palestine, Mohammed Mashal grew up amid ongoing conflict that disrupted his early education. He mastered English through a U.S. Department of State merit-based scholarship program during high school, before immigrating to the United States. Starting at Century College, he transferred to Hamline University, graduating summa cum laude in 2021, majoring in neuroscience and minoring in religion—fueled by a passion for understanding the brain’s mysteries.
Inspired by caregiving for his grandfather, who suffered an undiagnosed rare neurological illness, Mohammed dove into research. His journey began in microbiology labs, evolved through developmental neurobiology and cognitive neuroscience at Hamline, and deepened post-graduation as a researcher in Dr. Patrick Rothwell’s lab at the University of Minnesota.
There, he contributed to discoveries of angiotensin-converting enzyme’s role in opioid signaling and neuroligin-3’s sex-specific effects on morphine sensitivity, earning publications in Science, Addiction Biology, and Psychopharmacology, plus presentations at local and national symposia.
Now an MD/PhD student in Minnesota’s Medical Scientist Training Program (expected PhD 2030, MD 2032), Mohammed mentors undergraduates, volunteers in a student-run clinic and community activities, and leads MSTP committees on justice, equity, and diversity. Rooted in resilience, he aspires to become a physician-scientist bridging neuroscience and medicine to pioneer equitable treatments and inspire the next generation.
Beth Holger is the CEO for The Link, a youth and adult nonprofit in north Minneapolis, Minnesota that provides front-line crisis intervention, supportive services, street outreach, emergency shelter and housing to youth and young families experiencing homelessness, sex trafficking or who are involved in the juvenile justice / non-justice and foster care systems.
Prior to this position she was the Homeless Youth Services Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Human Services directing the state’s work in the areas of runaway, homeless and sex trafficked youth. Holger also worked for Avenues and the Bridge (both in Minneapolis) with street outreach, emergency shelter, and housing programs for youth experiencing homelessness and worked for Kennedy High School coaching girls cross country and track and field for 14 years. She is currently a volunteer youth track & field coach for the Minneapolis Parks.
Holger is a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters. She was the recipient of the Virginia Mcknight-Binger Award in Human Services in 2005, the Ain Dah Yung Center’s Native Ally of the Year Award in 2012, a Bush Leadership Fellow for the development work of the Safe Harbor Law/No Wrong Door Response from 2011-2013 and a Life Time Achievement Award from the Armory Foundation in 2022. She has research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health (2/11) and the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse (5/13). Holger has a bachelor’s in anthropology and political science and a master’s degree in nonprofit management and administration with a certificate in public policy from Hamline University, and an executive certificate in nonprofit leadership from Harvard University. She lives with her family in north Minneapolis.
Dr. Milpha Blamo MNM ’18 is a seasoned leader in organizational development with over 20 years of experience. As Vice President of Talent and Culture at the Minneapolis Foundation, she leads talent strategy, learning and development, and human resource systems—shaping a values-driven and inclusive workplace culture. Her work reflects a deep commitment to mentoring and empowering current and future leaders.
She brings her passion for leadership into the classroom, teaching graduate students at Saint Catherine University and undergraduates at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. She also serves on the Normandale Community College Business Advisory Council, aligning business programs with workforce needs.
Milpha is a member of the Forbes Human Resources Council, where she shares insights on talent management. Her research has been published in the Journal of Leadership Education and presented at the Black Industrial/Organizational Psychology Conference. She is an alumna of the prestigious Women of Color Leadership Program at Harvard Business School and a former board member of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.
Milpha holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Hamline University, and a doctoral degree in leadership from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. She and her husband John, a fellow Hamline graduate, are proud parents of three beautiful children who inspire them daily.
Mike Gray ’81 graduated from Hamline summa cum laude majoring in math and physics. He says that his third major was basketball. Mike was greatly influenced by wonderful professors such as Jerry Artz, Dale Varberg, Walter Fleming, and Richard Pontinen. Mike was a captain of the basketball team his senior year, and credits Coach Tim Mieure with developing him as a player but more importantly providing him with hands-on leadership development.
After graduating from Hamline, Mike was hired by Dale Peterson ’70, former chair of the Hamline University Board of Trustees, as a computer programmer at West Publishing Company and (now Thomson Corporation). Mike worked at West and Thomson for nearly 27 years in a variety of leadership positions in software development, technology architecture, and infrastructure. Mike then moved to IDeaS Revenue Management, serving as the chief technology officer. After IDeaS was sold, he moved on to SPS Commerce in 2008 as executive vice president of operations and technology. Mike was blessed to work in high-growth businesses and ended up hiring many Hamline grads to help him scale these businesses.
During these corporate years, Mike was also coaching his children in traveling and AAU basketball. Upon retiring from the corporate world, Mike’s coaching path led him back to Hamline in 2018 as a volunteer assistant coach for women’s basketball. With all the professors, mentors, coaches, teammates, and friends that have impacted his life journey, this was an easy decision. During his seven years at Hamline with the women’s basketball program, Mike has also served as a mentor in the School of Business, providing career guidance to many Hamline students.
Letitia Basford is a professor in the School of Education & Leadership and co-director of the Master’s in Teaching program. Letitia became a K-12 teacher-educator to inspire transformative teaching practices and policies that promote equity and access. Today, she remains deeply invested in these goals and infuses her research into her courses, tapping into the wealth of experience that her students bring to the classroom.
She has studied and written about teachers’ experiences advocating for an inclusive curriculum, a family’s experience in the school-to-prison pipeline, as well as schools that effectively prevent that pipeline, and the school experiences of Somali and Hmong youth in culturally specific charter schools. Most recently, Letitia has been studying the experiences of K-2 teachers as they implement a Science of Reading-informed literacy curriculum. She has also been investigating the experiences of Hamline professors who are employing high-impact teaching practices for the first time.
Before coming to Hamline, Letitia taught middle and high school students English as a Second Language and was also a teen-parent teacher in northern California. When not teaching, she spends time with her two daughters and husband, traveling, listening to music, and enjoying the outdoors.
