Fall 2015 Issue
Back to Issue2015 Alumni Award Recipients
November 16, 2015
Alumni award winners were (left to right): Arthur Schut, Mark VanderLinden and Robert and Trudy Huizenga Feldt.
Four Central alumni award winners were honored Oct. 10 during Central’s homecoming celebration. The awards honor the recipients’ important contributions to their career fields and to Central College. Award winners were Robert ’65 and Trudy ’65 Feldt, Arthur Schut ’69 and Mark VanderLinden ’78. The award presentation, followed by a luncheon, took place in Maytag Student Center.
Robert ’65 and Trudy ’65 Feldt
After majoring in chemistry at Central and completing a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University, Robert Feldt spent 33 years working for Agri-King in Fulton, Ill., where he was most recently senior chemist. Trudy Huizenga Feldt, a geography major at Central, taught 27 years in the River Bend School District.
The couple’s daughters, Janella ’94 and Melissa ’97, and grandson Andrew Johnson ’15 — plus Robert’s brother, Raymond Feldt ’62, and late mother, Alice Feldt ’33 — also belong to the Central family.
Arthur Schut ’69
Arthur Schut has been involved in providing drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services in Illinois, Iowa, California, Colorado and New York. He now lives in Westminster, Colo., and serves as president and CEO of Arapahoe House, a center for substance abuse and mental health treatment.
Schut studied psychology at Central, completed a master’s from State University of New York at Albany, and was president and CEO of Mid-Eastern Council on Chemical Abuse (MECCA) of Iowa for 25 years. He also held a faculty appointment to the Graduate Program in Substance Abuse Counseling at the University of Iowa.
Schut’s son Joshua ’01, sister Martha ‘73 and late parents, Harold ’34 and Ardis ’39, also graduated from Central.
Mark VanderLinden ’78
After graduating in business management, Mark VanderLinden has served Central as National Central Fund Chair, Reunion Class Chair and member of National Advisory Council, Parent’s Council and Business Advisory Council.
He has also filled many roles at Deere & Co., where he is now senior labor relations manager, and lives in Port Byron, Ill., with his wife, Michele. Their children, Katie Hughes ’04 and Andy VanderLinden ’06, also studied at Central along with his father and brother.