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Alumni Award WISCONSIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATIO

In 1975, Campbell joined a team working on cattle roundworms. That team eventually developed ivermectin, widely considered a wonder drug of modern veterinary science. In addition to treating cattle and horses, ivermectin was the first convenient and widely used treatment to prevent heartworm in dogs. Campbell’s interdisciplinary background helped him hypothesize another use for ivermectin: as a treatment for river blindness. Caused by a parasitic worm, river disease was the second-leading cause of blindness worldwide before the 1980s. Clinical investigators proved his hunch correct, and Merck executives made the unusual decision to make the drug available for free to all who needed it for the prevention of river blindness. This helped eradicate the disease in many of the affected countries in South America and Africa. The significant, ongoing impact of ivermectin led to Campbell sharing a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015. He was invited to the White House to meet President Barack Obama, who gave Campbell a small stuffed toy in the shape of a heartworm. Campbell’s team eventually developed ivermectin, widely considered a wonder drug of modern veterinary science. Since retiring fromMerck, Campbell has kept busy as a university lecturer at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He is also an avid painter, mostly of parasitic worms, and he regularly donates artworks to auction off at student scholarship fundraisers. “I like parasites, even though I’ve spent most of my life trying to kill them,” he says. “I often compare them to flowers — there’s an almost endless variety in their structure and life cycle. It’s absolutely phenomenal.”

four-month-old channel was manager of program coordination, and he pioneered ESPN’s unique mix of event broadcasting, sports news, and special-interest programming. He rose quickly, becoming ESPN president and CEO in 1990 at age 38. He spent the next 12 years growing ESPN into a multichannel Goliath of sports content. Bornstein then spent a few years as president of ABC Sports, which he helped to establish as the preeminent network for college football, and spearheaded the creation of the College Football Championship Series. In 2003, he was tapped by the National Football League to launch the NFL Network, which became the most widely distributed sports network in the history of the industry. Bornstein shepherded large acquisitions, mergers, and innovations that have reshaped how, when, and where the American public watches football. In 2015, video-game company Activision Blizzard recruited Bornstein to become the head of a new e-sports division. The experience opened his eyes to the potential for media companies to “gamify” live sporting events into more personalized experiences for audiences. In 2021, Bornstein joined data firm Genius Sports as its first president of North America. He oversees the company’s core data business, streaming endeavors, marketing, partnerships, and forays into artificial intelligence. In 2003, Bornstein was tapped by the National Football League to launch the NFL Network. “Steve has distinguished himself professionally by completely revolutionizing the world of sports and sports entertainment,” says retired UW athletics director Barry Alvarez. “Steve is a giant in his field.”

Courtesy of Steven Bornstein

© Nobel Media/Alexander Mahmoud

Steven Bornstein ’74 UWMajor: Communication Arts President of North America at Genius Sports

William Campbell MS’54, PhD’57

UWMajor: Veterinary Science Merck Research Scientist, Nobel Laureate

William Campbell studied biology at Trinity College in Dublin and then arrived in Madison supported by a Fulbright grant in January 1953. He lived in Knapp House and studied giant liver flukes in sheep and deer while working in the lab of veterinary science professor Arlie Todd. Although Campbell originally wanted to pursue science for the sake of science, Todd convinced him to consider working in the pharmaceutical industry, and Campbell accepted a job at Merck and moved to New Jersey. Campbell was an unusual industry scientist for his time. In addition to his assigned work, he regularly pursued independent projects that led to journal publications, invitations to academic conferences, and a fellowship in South and Central America usually reserved for university-affiliated scientists.

Observing the construction of Vilas Hall as an undergrad piqued Steve Bornstein’s interest in television production. He took a few communications classes and was hooked enough to switch his major away frommath and physics. Bornstein got a job as a cameraman at a local TV station and balanced school with work. He held positions at both public and commercial TV stations in Madison, ultimately ending up as a director. After graduating, he worked at several stations around Wisconsin before moving to Columbus, Ohio, where he climbed his way up to executive producer at WOSU-TV. On the side, he was hired to help produce the first-ever pay-per-view Ohio State football games, which in 1980 earned him an invitation to join a brand-new dedicated sports channel called ESPN. Bornstein’s first job at the

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