Cranbrook Names 2019 President's Award for Excellence Recipients

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, April 30, 2019 – For 30 years, Cranbrook Educational Community has annually recognized faculty, staff, and volunteers who epitomize Cranbrook’s dedication to excellence and community collaboration with its President’s Award for Excellence. The recipients are nominated by their peers for review and selected by Cranbrook President Dominic DiMarco. The recipients of the 2019 President’s Award for Excellence are: Randy Forester, Julie Fracker, Steve Graf, and Joe Roosen.

“This year’s recipients have been described by their colleagues as exceptionally talented, highly motivated, indispensable, and a true champion of Cranbrook,” said President DiMarco. “I am pleased to be able to recognize them with the President’s Award for Excellence and thank them for their commitment to Cranbrook Educational Community.”

Randy Forester has served as a Cranbrook House and Gardens Auxiliary board member for each of his 20 years as a member, and actively volunteered at Cranbrook Schools while his daughter, Ivy (CS ’07) was attending. He is currently the Fund Development Chair as well as the Educational and Cultural Programs Chair for Cranbrook House and Gardens Auxiliary. Growing up, his parents instilled in him a spirit of giving, and he now continues their legacy of giving back. Forester says what makes him happy and he finds most rewarding is “seeing a project that needs to be undertaken, raising the funds, and finally seeing the work completed.” He has chaired Holiday Splendor, Holiday Tables, Music in the Gardens, and many other successful fundraisers at Cranbrook. Within a year of joining as a member, he was recognized for his meritorious service with the Auxiliary’s Golden Thistle Award (and is one of a select few to have received the award twice). Forester lives in Birmingham with his wife, Rochelle. “I’m fortunate to be involved with Cranbrook in many ways. The beauty and the culture that is at the community’s fingertips is amazing. It’s all here.”

Julie Fracker has worked at Cranbrook since 2012 and is the current Director of Communications for Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. She previously held management positions at Kmart Corporation and Eisbrenner Public Relations. As a writer, Fracker has contributed articles for magazines around the U.S., including Cranbrook Schools’ Tradition magazine. What drives her is being able to “tell the stories of the work everyone is doing here. All of the amazing things our alumni are doing, our current students, and those working on museum programming, that’s what keeps me coming back every day.” She has overseen communication efforts for more than 60 exhibitions, five academic recruitment seasons, four website redesigns, dozens of special events, and ongoing leadership transitions. Significant projects have included management of the publicity campaign for Nick Cave: Here, Hear; which reached more than 500 million people. Her data-driven email tracking and targeted marketing expertise has helped to significantly increase Academy applications and Art Museum attendance. Fracker lives in Oxford with her husband and their two teenage songs. She holds degrees in both Public Relations and English from Western Michigan University and serves as an elected Trustee of Oxford Public Library.

Steve Graf has been involved with sports his entire life. He played wide receiver at Cal Lutheran University and was asked to join the coaching staff upon graduating. Graf came to Cranbrook as the Athletic Director in 2009. Since then, he has also served as Assistant Football Coach for Cranbrook Kingswood since 2015, and Head Football Coach for Cranbrook Kingswood from 2010 to 2013. Under his direction, Cranbrook athletics has attained 30 State Championships, 51 Regional Championships, 20 State Runners-Up, and status as the 2014-15 MLIVE Ultimate State Champions. For Graf though, “it’s not all about championships. It’s about seeing the growth and evolution of our students.” Steve lives on campus. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Jill and their daughter, Savanna at the family’s Enchanted Loon Inn in Wisconsin. He also likes to fish, play guitar, and spend time on the water.

Joe Roosen received his first computer when he was young as a gift from his grandfather, who nurtured his technical skill. Self-taught, he got into the computer field around Y2K and never looked back. Roosen began working for Cranbrook’s IT Department as a consultant in 2002 and joined as a permanent employee about two years later. He is motivated by being able to help people, “I like to make things easier for people and to learn. I’ve been able to learn a lot here. If you can help someone every day, and learn something at the same time, it’s like a self-reward.” Roosen was instrumental in a recent wireless project that resulted in better coverage and accessibility across campus. Another major project for Roosen has been battling the Emotet virus at Cranbrook, as a consultant for the FBI, and collaboratively online with people all over the world. Roosen lives in Rochester Hills with his wife, Amanda. In his free time, he enjoys studying Michigan geology, prospecting on his property in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, metal detecting, photography, and anything technical.

Cranbrook’s President’s Award for Excellence was established in 1990 by Cranbrook President Emeritus, Dr. Lillian Bauder. Recipients are recognized in perpetuity with their initials on the legs of benches located around campus. The original designs of the bench legs are the work of Gary Griffin, a former Cranbrook Academy of Art Metalsmithing Artist-in-Residence.

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Cranbrook Educational Community
One of the world’s leading centers of education, science, and art, Cranbrook was founded in 1904 by George Gough and Ellen Scripps Booth. Today, the Cranbrook Educational Community comprises an Academy of Art and Art Museum, a Center for Collections and Research, House & Gardens, an Institute of Science, and Pre-K through 12 independent college preparatory schools. Its National Historic Landmark campus is graced by architecturally significant buildings, outdoor sculpture, and natural and tended landscapes. The Cranbrook community receives more than 300,000 people annually, engaging learners of all ages and interests in educational programs and experiences.

To learn more about Cranbrook, please visit www.cranbrook.edu.

Media Contact
Eric Franchy, PR Manager
Office of the President
Cranbrook Educational Community
248.645.3162 | efranchy@cranbrook.edu