UIS Alum Pamela McClelland honored for Outstanding Advocate Leadership by the U of I Foundation

The University of Illinois Foundation today announces Pamela McClelland, partner (retired) at Kerber, Eck and Braeckel and graduate of the University of Illinois Springfield, as the winner of the 2015 William E. Winter Award for Outstanding Advocate Leadership.

The award will be presented at the UIS Celebration of Philanthropy on Thursday, May 21, 2015, at UIS. The U of I Foundation is the fundraising arm of the University of Illinois and its three campuses.

McClelland, who earned her bachelor’s degree in 1990 and master’s degree in 1995, came to UIS as a single mother in her forties. At the time, not intending to earn a degree, she enrolled at the university merely to refresh her bookkeeping skills. With encouragement from accountancy professors, like Don Stanhope, Pam soared and before long, graduated with highest honors.

She not only passed the certified public accountant exam, but won the Elijah Watts Sells Award, bestowed on students who score in the top five percent nationally on the CPA exam. The year she received the award 70,000 individuals took the exam.

“It’s one of the highest award the CPA exam taker can achieve,” said Leonard Branson, chair of the Accountancy Department at UIS. “This was a working mother who had a full-time job and a part-time job, a teenaged daughter and was going to school, so the Sells Award was a significant achievement.”

Pam joined Kerber, Eck & Braekel (KEB), one of Springfield’s top accounting firms, where her work with not-for-profits organizations was highly valued. On the way to becoming a partner, she added a master’s degree from UIS.

Since her graduation, she has had a role in bringing the following scholarships to UIS: the Donald F. Stanhope Alumni Scholarship, the Leona Vollintine Accounting Scholarship in Honor of Donald Stanhope, the Leona Stanford Vollintine Scholarship, the KEB Accountancy Scholarship, and her own scholarship, the Pam McClelland Accountancy Scholarship.

In addition to her advocacy for scholarships, Pam has been an active volunteer on campus, especially through the UIS Accountancy Alumni Advisory Committee and the College of Business and Management Advisory Committee. In 1999, she received the University of Illinois Alumni Association (UIAA) Loyalty Award, and in 2004, she became the first to receive the UIAA Distinguished Service Award. She is currently vice-chairman of the UIS Campus Alumni Advisory Board.

The William E. Winter Award, named for the CEO Emeritus of the 7-Up Company and a longtime member of the University of Illinois Foundation Board of Directors, celebrates individuals who play active roles in securing private support for the University of Illinois.

“Pamela McClelland is a champion of fundraising,” said Jeff Lorber, Vice Chancellor for Development at UIS. "She has tirelessly raised money for scholarships and has been a strong and effective leader of others on behalf of UIS.”

Past recipients of the William E. Winter Award include Cullom Davis, Bob Clary, Leonard Branson, Thom Serafin, Tom Marantz, Julie Kellner, Guerry L. Suggs and Michelle M. Suggs (deceased); Howard C. Humphrey (deceased), James Lundquist (deceased), and Clifford L. Greenwalt.