Hillsdale College Holds Alumni Awards Banquet
Award recipients were John A. Burtka IV, Robert Fodor, Juliane Malia Hillock, and Tori Hope Wichman Petersen.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College announced its 2025 Alumni Award recipients on June 28 at the Alumni Awards Banquet during Hillsdale’s annual White & Blue Weekend. Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn presented the awards.
“Hillsdale graduates go on to serve their communities and their country in a variety of fields — education, business, law, science, journalism, and many others,” said Colleen McGinness, executive director of Alumni Relations at Hillsdale College. “These awards allow us to recognize outstanding contributions by alumni who exemplify the spirit of Hillsdale College.”
“These awards allow us to recognize outstanding contributions by alumni who exemplify the spirit of Hillsdale College.”
John A. Burtka IV ’12 received an award for Outstanding Achievement in Non-Profit Management. Burtka is president and CEO of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which was founded in 1953 to educate the next generation of American leaders. He graduated from Hillsdale College in 2012 with degrees in French and Christian studies and earned a degree in theology from La Faculté Jean Calvin in Aix-en-Provence, France. He has appeared on Fox News and Fox Business and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Newsweek, First Things, and The American Mind, among other publications. He has been a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute and has also participated in fellowships with the American Swiss Foundation and the Trinity Forum. He is the editor and author of “Gateway to Statesmanship: Selections from Xenophon to Churchill,” published by Regnery Gateway.
Robert Fodor ’84 received an award for Outstanding Achievement in Professional Athletics. Fodor finished his eighth season with the NBA’s Miami Heat and his fifth in the role of shooting coach/player development coach. He is the first full-time shooting coach in franchise history and since his arrival the Heat have recorded their seven highest single-season totals for three-point field goals made. Fodor has spent over 30 years around the game of basketball, serving as an entrepreneur and consultant. His resume includes time spent coaching and teaching shooting in Norway, Germany, Spain, Singapore and Slovenia. Fodor is the owner of The Shooting Guy, a basketball website dedicated to the science of player development. With a resume that includes coaching NBA MVPs, NBA three-point champions, and Olympic gold medalists, as well as WNBA and European stars, Fodor has developed an international reputation for his shooting system. Fodor is also a championship-level golfer and an avid fisherman, and he has business ventures beyond the realm of basketball.
Juliane Malia Hillock ’91 received an award for Outstanding Achievement in Education. Originally from Portland, Maine, Hillock is the founding principal of Hózhó Academy, a Hillsdale College Member School in Gallup, New Mexico. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hillsdale College and a master’s degree in school leadership from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Prior to pursuing principal licensure, she worked in Maine and later in the Phoenix, Arizona, area as a special education teacher for students with autism. While earning a master’s degree in special education from the University of Phoenix and later a graduate certificate from Arizona State University, she served as an instructor in the special education master’s program at Arizona State University and was a contributing author to the textbook used in the program. As part of the school leadership program at Harvard, she served a year as a principal intern for an elementary school in Boston Public Schools. After the internship, she became the founding principal of an elementary charter school in Mesa, Arizona, for several years prior to opening Hózhó Academy in 2018. She resides in Gallup with her husband. She is the mother of five, including one Hillsdale graduate, and is also the grandmother of five.
Tori Hope Wichman Petersen ’18 received a Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) award for Achievement in Public Ministry. Petersen is the bestselling author of “Fostered” and “Breaking the Patterns That Break You.” Her memoir, “Fostered,” is used as a resource for organizations serving vulnerable children and child protective service workers all over the nation. She is a sought-after speaker and Bible teacher. Since coming to faith, she has shared her testimony and life as authentically as she can to offer hope to others. Named by Outreach Magazine as one of “20 Rising Leaders for This Generation and the Next,” Petersen is known for her compassionate voice on the topic of healing juxtaposed with her fierce advocacy work for vulnerable children. Petersen has testified before Congress to help create better policy and outcomes for youth experiencing the foster care system and she travels the nation raising awareness about the needs of suffering children. At home she is a wife, biological mom, and foster mom who enjoys cooking with her children. With a deep value for family, community, and hospitality, Petersen and her family love to make extra food for whoever might stop by.
For headshots of the award recipients, click here. For photos from the banquet, click here. For photos of Hillsdale College, click here. For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.