Two SPS graduates earn
Leonard Future Leader Award

Cheri Ditto, Robert Mann cited
for scholarship and service

ANGOLA, Ind. – Two graduates of Trine University’s School of Professional Studies earned the 2011-12 Leonard Future Leader Award.

Cheri Ditto, of Roanoke, and Robert “Bob” Mann, of Plymouth, each received the award and a $1,000 stipend earlier this year.

“The Leonard Future Leader Award is intended to recognize the scholarship and service of an outstanding male and outstanding female graduate of the Master of Science in leadership program at Trine,” said David Wood, dean of the School of Professional Studies.

Ditto, CEO of Tote All ‘E Unique customer handbags and campus director of Trine’s Fort Wayne Regional Campus, has built her servant leadership skills through a variety of human resource management and supervisory roles, as well as through active involvement in community organizations. She earned her Bachelor of Science in business administration from Tri-State University (now Trine) and earned her Master of Science in leadership with a concentration in strategic foresight and entrepreneurship in 2011.

Mann, group manager of quality engineering at DePuy Orthopaedics in Warsaw, has spent more than two decades leading and mentoring individuals and teams through engineering processes. He earned an associate degree in mechanical engineering from Milwaukee School of engineering, a Bachelor of Science in applied management from Tri-State, and a Master of Science in leadership with a concentration in biomedical regulatory affairs from Trine in 2011.

 “It appears that these outstanding individuals have not only excelled in the classroom, but also have used their business and industrial experience to gain a competitive advantage,” said Edward Leonard, Ph.D., for whom the award is named. Leonard is a distinguished visiting professor at Trine University.