UC will gather to honor alumni at 'Night with A&S'

The Distinguished Alumni Award is given to an established alumnus who is outstanding in their chosen field and whose significant contributions have benefited the community, state, nation, college or university. 

The 2024 UC College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award goes to Patrick S. Portway, a 1963 graduate of the Political Science program. 

As the son of a widowed mother, Portway assumed the financial burden of his UC education, working as a dry cleaner delivery driver and earning money to cover the cost of school, which he initially attended in the evenings. He switched to full-time student status after his first year, recognizing it would cost more but ultimately allowing him to earn his degree much sooner.

Starting as a physics major, Portway took rigorous classes in math, science and technology while balancing a part-time job and his duties as a member of the UC Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. Midway through his college career, he changed majors to political science with a concentration in Russian studies, taking classes in Russian language, government and history.

Upon graduation, Portway landed a job with the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C. After basic officer infantry training, he worked in Army Intelligence and served in the 116th Counterintelligence Corps Group as a management intern specializing in automated data and telecommunications administration. He was a member of the security detail for President Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration. 

Leaving his work in government to join the private sector, Portway worked for many leading companies, including Xerox as manager of strategic marketing; Boeing as a a congressional liaison; and Satellite Business Systems, a company founded in partnership by IBM, Aetna, and COMSAT. Working for American Satellite, he sold and oversaw the implementation of satellite networks to such companies as Crocker National Bank, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

An innovator who realized the potential for videoconferencing well before Zoom, Portway published the book “Teleconferencing & Distance Learning” in 1992. In 1980, he had formed his own company, Applied Business TeleCommunications, and also ran TeleCon, the largest conference on teleconferencing and distance learning, until 1998, when he sold his company.

Portway holds a master’s of arts from the University of Maryland in Public Administration. He has been honored by many civic and industry organizations, including: the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award; Inductee, Worldwide Lifetime Achievement; Who's Who in America; Award for Higher Education, Rotary Intl.; Distinguished Service Award, JCI, Inc.; Who's Who in Finance & Business; Who's Who in America; the Rotary International Award for Higher Education; U.S. Jaycees Foundation, Outstanding Young Man of America; and the Global Distance Learning Assoc. He has served as an advisory board member for the National University Technology Network and founded the U.S. Distance Learning Association.

Portway’s philanthropy to UC and the College of Arts and Sciences supports the School of Public and International Affairs in establishing the Center for Cyberstrategy and Policy. Students who participate in the center’s work will be able to travel to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence in Estonia, a country with ties to the Portway family as Malle Portway's family fled Estonia during World War II.

The Special Achievement Award is given to an alumnus for notable achievement in their field, continued service, and involvement with the university and community.

The 2024 Special Achievement Award goes to Sujata Malhotra, a Darwin Turner Scholar and STEM program graduate who earned a bachelor’s in biochemistry in 1998. 

As an undergraduate, Malhotra had dreamed of attending medical school, but upon graduation she decided to go into the food and beverage industry, beginning her career at Cargill, Inc. She held various positions — quality assurance chemist, technical services manager, sales manager — while earning a master’s in Business Administration from Capital University, focusing on international marketing. 

After gaining experience in commodities and ingredient procurement at Treehouse Food Inc. in Chicago, she propelled herself into a lucrative sales career at Ingredion, Inc., then to Sethness Roquette where she moved up the ranks to eventually become President of the Americas for the global market leader in caramel color. Malhotra implements the company strategy to drive optimum profitability, product mix and customer satisfaction; leads negotiations and collaborations to secure major contracts and partnerships to drive revenue growth and market penetration; cultivates a high-performance culture by inspiring and leading cross-functional teams toward shared business objectives while prioritizing employee safety; and acts as a visionary leader to modernize processes to increase efficiency. 

During this time, Malhotra became the secretary on the board of directors with Candy Production Club of Chicago, a professional organization of candy makers; most recently she was the organization’s president. In addition, she is a Dean’s Advisory Board member for the UC College of Arts and Sciences. As a strong believer in higher education, she started the Sujata Malhotra Scholarship Fund for students majoring in chemistry or biochemistry.