Alumni Awards

UNC Pembroke's Alumni Awards celebrate excellence across a range of achievements. Whether honoring lifelong service, professional success or emerging leadership, each award highlights the impact of our Braves near and far.

Award Categories

compass pointing to the word "leadership"

Meritorious Service Award

The 51猎奇 Meritorious Service Award honors alumni who demonstrate exceptional service and commitment to 51猎奇 or their community. Recipients embody BraveNation's spirit by generously sharing their time, talent, and resources, reflecting the university's values and inspiring future generations.

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Distinguished Alumni Award

The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor from the 51猎奇 Alumni Association, recognizing graduates who have achieved exceptional professional success and made significant contributions to their field. Through leadership, innovation and dedication, recipients bring honor to 51猎奇 and inspire the BraveNation community while elevating the university's reputation regionally, nationally and beyond.

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Young Alumni of the Year

The Young Alumni Award honors graduates aged 40 or younger who earned their degree within the past 10 years and have demonstrated exceptional early-career achievement, leadership and meaningful contributions to their profession, community or the university. Recipients exemplify the spirit and values of 51猎奇 through innovation, service, and engagement.

2026 Award Recipients

Distinguished Alumni

Col. Chad Mixon '00
Col. Chad Mixon '00
Col. K. "Chad" Mixon dedicated more than 33 years to the U.S. Army, rising from infantryman to garrison commander of Fort Bragg, one of the Army's largest and most complex installations. He began his career in 1993 with the 82nd Airborne Division, then graduated from UNC Pembroke in 2000 and was commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate through Campbell University's Army ROTC program.

Over the next two decades, Mixon held leadership roles across the Army and the joint force, including assignments with U.S. Special Operations Command and the Joint Special Operations Command. He served as professor of military science at the University of South Carolina and commanded a battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team. He deployed seven times, to Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Afghanistan.

His decorations include the Bronze Star Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and he has earned the Ranger Tab and Master Parachutist Badge. He also holds a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. Mixon retired from the Army in July 2026 after two years as Fort Bragg's garrison commander. He is a proud 2000 graduate of UNC Pembroke.

Meritorious Service Award

Chairman John L. Lowery '03, '09
John L. Lowery '03, '09
Chairman John L. Lowery has devoted his career to public service, leading the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina as tribal chairman and representing House District 47 in the North Carolina General Assembly. He was sworn in for his second term as chairman in January 2025.

Under his leadership, the tribe has established new departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Health and Human Services and Economic Development and Tourism. The tribe has also secured unprecedented public and private funding for the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center, including major renovations, along with more than $10 million in additional federal housing funds, and Lowery has proposed the largest budget in tribal government history.

Most notably, Lowery led the tribe as the Lumbee Fairness Act was signed into law, ending a 137-year effort to win full federal recognition for the Lumbee people. He holds a Master of Public Administration from UNC Chapel Hill and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from UNC Pembroke.

Young Alumnae Award

This year's Young Alumnae Award is shared by Lydia Locklear Canty and Amber Holland, Lumbee attorneys and founding partners of Current Tribal Law & Policy, PLLC.

Lydia Locklear Canty '14
Lydia Locklear Canty '14
Lydia Locklear Canty is a Lumbee citizen and a founding partner of Current Tribal Law & Policy, PLLC, a Native-women-owned law firm serving tribal governments, tribally owned entities and their partners. She previously served as deputy tribal attorney for the Catawba Nation after clerking for Justice Anita Earls of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

After earning her bachelor's degree in American Indian Studies at 51猎奇 in 2014, Canty attended the Pre-Law Summer Institute at the University of New Mexico School of Law. She went on to earn her Juris Doctor, with a Certificate in Indigenous Law, from Michigan State University College of Law in 2017.

Canty is passionate about pro bono work and about helping tribes build the legal and economic infrastructure that strengthens tribal sovereignty. She volunteers with legal aid organizations in North and South Carolina and has helped establish legal aid clinics in tribal communities. She serves on the 51猎奇 Board of Visitors and chairs the Pre-Law Summer Institute's Judicial Clerkship Committee. A native of the Union Chapel community in Pembroke, she is a proud 2014 graduate of UNC Pembroke.

Amber Holland '07, '12
Amber Holland '07, '12
Amber Holland is an enrolled citizen of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and a founding partner of Current Tribal Law & Policy, PLLC. A Sampson County native, she earned a bachelor's degree in social studies education with a minor in American Indian Studies from 51猎奇 in 2007 and a master's degree in social studies education in 2012. She then spent nearly a decade teaching high school social studies in the Public Schools of Robeson County and the Wake County Public School System.

Holland earned her Juris Doctor and an Indian Law Certificate from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2020. Licensed in New Mexico and the District of Columbia, she advocates for tribal members, governments and entities in economic development, tribal policy and code revision and federal and state compliance.

A traditional powwow dancer, Holland served as Miss Indian North Carolina in 2008-09 and is a former president of the Native American Bar Association of DC. Her honors include a Wilma Mankiller Fellowship from the National Congress of American Indians and the Mary Beth and W. Richard West Jr. Award Recognizing Excellence in Indian Law. She is a proud two-time graduate of UNC Pembroke.

Previous Award Winners

  • Thomas Oxendine 1967
  • Harold Martin 1968
  • Brantley Blue 1969
  • No Award Given 1970
  • No Award Given 1971
  • Helen Sampson 1972
  • Dr. Bobby D. Brayboy 1973
  • Henry W. Oxendine 1974
  • Dr. Norma J. Thompson 1975
  • Bracey F. Lowry 1976
  • Grace Epps 1977
  • Bill McFayden 1978
  • No Award Given 1979
  • No Award Given 1980
  • Martha Beach 1981
  • Dennis Lowery 1982
  • Mary Teets 1983
  • Purnell Swett 1984
  • Hon. James E. Lockemy 1985
  • Francesca Loeffke 1986
  • Betty O. Mangum 1987
  • Adolph Dial 1988
  • Kelvin Sampson 1989
  • Gregory Headen 1990
  • Capt. Jerry Baker Jr. 1991
  • Dr. Rose Marie Lowry 1992
  • Dr. Cheryl R. Locklear 1993
  • Dr. Charles Beasley 1994
  • Dr. Breeden Blackwell 1995
  • Ronnie N. Sutton 1996
  • Larry Chavis 1997
  • Sen. David Weinstein 1998
  • Dr. Joseph Oxendine 1999
  • Randy Bridges 2000
  • David Peace 2001
  • Harvey Godwin 2002
  • Dr. Zoe Locklear 2003
  • Dr. Louise C. Maynor 2004
  • Thomas Williams 2005
  • Col. William Meier 2006
  • Bobbie & Abdul Ghaffar 2007
  • Dallas鈥滿ac鈥� Campbell 2008
  • Aaron K. Thomas 2009
  • Kellie H. Blue 2010
  • Dr. Johnny Hunt 2011-A
  • Dr. Curt Locklear 2011-B
  • Dr. David Brooks 2012
  • Dr. Jeff Collins 2013
  • Allison Harrington 2014
  • Mickey Gregory 2015
  • Brian Freeman 2016
  • Brad Allen 2017
  • Dr. Paul Nelson Locklear 2018
  • Mac Campbell 2019
  • Floyd Locklear 2020
  • Colonel Carl Mason 2021
  • Paul Willoughby Jr. 2022
  • Hampton & Pattie Brayboy 2022
  • Dr. Shelli Brewington 2023
  • Kelvin Oxendine 2023
  • Christine Sides Fisher 2024
  • Newy Scruggs 2025
  • David Britt 1967
  • Thomas J. White 1968
  • R.D. McMillan 1969
  • No Award Given 1970
  • No Award Given 1971
  • Robert Morgan 1972
  • Dr. Walter J. Gale 1973
  • Theodore Maynor 1974
  • John L. Carter 1975
  • Reba M. Lowry 1976
  • Hector MacLean 1977
  • Dr. James B. Chavis 1978
  • No Award Given 1979
  • No Award Given 1980
  • Ira Pate Lowry 1981
  • Horace Burnette 1982
  • Adolph Blue 1982
  • Welton Lowry 1983
  • Faye Lewis Ostrom 1984
  • Joseph Sandlin 1985
  • Bertine Prine 1986
  • Jesse Oxendine 1987
  • Mary Martin Bell 1988
  • Dr. Paul R. Givens 1989
  • M. Carr Gibson 1990
  • Marion Bass 1991
  • Frances 鈥淧ete鈥� Ivy 1992
  • Fred George 1993
  • E. Gene Warren 1994
  • Frank H. Skidmore Jr. 1995
  • Capt. Michael L. Holmes 1996
  • Carl Peed 1997
  • Noah Woods 1998
  • Dr. Yevonne Brannon 1999
  • Rosa R. Winfree 2000
  • Martha Beach 2001
  • Dr. Curt Locklear Sr. 2002
  • Alec Price 2003
  • Dr. Waltz Maynor 2004
  • Milton Teague Jr. 2005
  • Henry Lewis 2006
  • Milton Gene Hall 2007
  • Richard 鈥滵ick鈥� Taylor 2008
  • Donna R. Lowry 2009
  • James A. Thomas 2010
  • Evan Davenport 2011-A
  • James鈥滲uddy鈥� Bell 2011-B
  • Hon. James E. Lockemy 2012
  • Dorothy Blue 2013
  • Kenneth Strickland 2014
  • Tony Dellinger 2015
  • Robert 鈥淏ob鈥� Caton 2016
  • Brian Edkins 2017
  • Arnold Locklear 2018
  • James Ayars 2019
  • Ronnie Sampson 2020
  • Dr. Ramon Jacobs-Shaw 2021
  • Vanessa Gonzalez 2022
  • The Honorable Trey Allen 2023
  • Colonel Carlos E. Berdecia 2024
  • Dr. Sandra Locklear 2025
  • Gina M. Gibson 2010
  • Matthew Staley 2011-A
  • Jamie Rene Goins 2011-B
  • Kenneth L. Bowen 2012
  • Ashley Berdeau 2013
  • Derek Brunson 2014
  • Pardon Ndhlovu 2015
  • Amber Jolly 2016
  • Michael Robinson 2017
  • Candace Langston 2018
  • Barry Burch Jr. 2019
  • Jordin Dickerson 2021
  • Dr. Ethan Sanford 2022
  • Dr. Kennedi Stewart Henry 2022
  • Madison Wilcox 2023
  • Taley Strickland Hunt 2024
  • Alexandria Pilot Chambers 2025