UC Alumni Association names top alumni award winners

Renowned businessmen and philanthropists Carl H. Lindner III and S. Craig Lindner have set a standard for combining great success in corporate life with an unerring dedication to serving their community — both local and global. Co-presidents, co-CEOs and directors of American Financial Group (AFG), the Lindners began their careers with the company as UC students doing co-op work at the company begun by their father, Carl H. Lindner, Jr. In addition to leading AFG’s insurance division, the Great American Insurance Company, Carl supports numerous charities focused on promoting education, assisting at-risk children, and supporting international Christian ministry. He is also the majority owner and CEO of Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. Craig leads Great American Insurance Group Annuities, the division engaged in annuity sales in the retail, financial institutions and education markets. His dedication to advancing research, improving care, and removing the stigma of mental illness led to the establishment of the Lindner Center of HOPE, a nonprofit psychiatric treatment facility with an affiliated addiction-treatment center jointly operated by the Lindner Foundation and UC Health. The Lindners were instrumental in developing the new $120 million home of the Lindner College of Business at their alma mater, and have long been major supporters of UC Athletics and the UC Medical Center, among many other initiatives.

A 30-year teaching career reflects the importance Dobbs places on education, while her indefatigable volunteer spirit supercharges her desire to enhance her beloved alma mater. She has served many years on the CECH Dean’s Advisory Council; devoted herself to various causes within UC Athletics; created three scholarships along with her late husband, Bob; and even written a pair of children’s books about UC. Now as a co-chair of the UC Bicentennial, she has redoubled her efforts and commitment to the university with her vision fixed as intently on UC’s next 200 years as on celebrating its first 200. 

After leading student-driven efforts to embed civil rights progress in the fabric of university life, Blackmond embarked on a career dedicated to education reform, especially in urban communities. In various organizations and leadership roles, he led efforts to increase educational choices available to low-income families in his native Detroit; advocated for transforming the educational system largely through coalition-building and legislative policy; and worked tenaciously to see children’s needs remain central to the decision-making process. He has always sought to provide children with access to the quality public education they deserve, regardless of labels they may carry or barriers they may face.

As managing director of U.S. Bancorp’s Sports & Entertainment Group, Mulvihill oversees the implementation of the company’s strategy to provide unique stadium financing plans directly to clients, including NFL, NBA, MLB and MLS teams. As stadium financing moves increasingly to the private sector and relies less on public funding, he has been able to draw on his experience in Washington, D.C. helping legislators craft landmark tax policy and navigate economic issues, and in Chicago as a financial services senior economist, to develop comprehensive solutions that meet the needs of his clients and their communities.