Distinguished Alumni Award

The Distinguished Alumni Award honors those who have distinguished themselves over a period of years and have achieved a pinnacle position in their chosen profession.

Caption: Donna (Reilly) Bafundo ’64, President John McKeegan, and Kathleen (Perzik) Tice ’64 with their Distinguished Alumni Awards

Kathleen (Perzik) Tice ’64

Kathleen (Perzik) Tice, raised on a farm near Rochester, New York, paved the way for her two sisters by being the first to graduate from college in her family. In 1964, Kathleen graduated from Mount Aloysius College with an associate of science degree in business.

In 1972, Kathleen was appointed the first female technical sales representative at Eastman Kodak and then Diagnostic Managed Healthcare Executive with Johnson & Johnson. She continued her education, graduating from the University of Rochester (NY State), and attended La Sorbonne, in Paris.

Kathleen is very involved in her community, including organizations such as the Ukrainian National Women’s

Donna (Reilly) Bafundo ’64

Donna (Reilly) Bafundo’s career began as an English teacher in her home state of Connecticut after graduating from the Mount with her associate of arts, and then from Trinity College with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature.

She retired from George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, VA, in 2000, where she held positions as a member of George Mason’s administrative faculty, assistant professor, special assistant to the provost, and director of undergraduate degree programs. Donna also served as Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Consortium for Continuing Higher Education, and she worked at several other universities such as Auburn University in Montgomery, AL, and at Boston University in Brussels, Belgium.

League of America, National Council for International Visitors, and many more. Kathleen married Kenneth Tomes Tice in 1972, and she enjoyed a wonderful life with him until his passing in 2019.

Mount Aloysius created a launch pad for Donna’s future and provided the GPS to guide her in her life and faith journey, allowing her to apply the Mercy Values and a deep commitment to students to her work in the secular university environment.