University Awards
Dr. Derwin Gray
BS ’96 Physical Education, (MDiv ’08, Southern Evangelical Seminary; Honorary D.Div. ’15, Southern Evangelical Seminary; DMin ’18, Northern Seminary)
Distinguished Alumni Award
Dr. Derwin L. Gray is the co-founding and Lead Pastor of Transformation Church in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina, region. He was playing football for BYU when he met his wife Vicki, who threw javelin on the track team. Gray and his wife Vicki have two adult children, whom he considers “God’s greatest gifts.” After six years playing professional football in the NFL with the Colts and Panthers, Gray felt called to help people come to know and love Jesus. He wanted to see lives healed, identities restored, and communities transformed by the love of Christ. He went back to school for a Master of Divinity and Doctorate of Ministry.
Gray is an award-winning author and a recipient of the John M. Perkins Justice Award—an award given to a visionary leader whose life and work exemplify the principles of biblical justice. Transformation Church is a multiethnic, multi-generational community of people from all walks of life, united by Jesus—“a place where broken people find healing, where faith becomes real, and where love is more than a message.”
Bruce C. Hafen
BA ’66 Political Science, (JD ’67, University of Utah)
Distinguished Alumni Award
Bruce Hafen’s life has been about family, higher education, writing, and Church service. After his mission to Germany, he met Marie Kartchner at BYU. They were married in 1964 and have seven children—and a whole flock of grandchildren. After practicing law four years, he became Assistant to BYU President Dallin H. Oaks and a faculty member at BYU’s new law school. His writing on family law and constitutional law was published and cited in leading scholarly journals.
After serving as Director of Evaluation for the Church, Hafen was President of BYU-Idaho from 1978–85, then BYU Law School Dean, then Provost in the BYU Administration. In 1996 he was called as a General Authority, presiding over the Australia and Europe areas, and advising the Church History, Priesthood, and Temple Departments. As an Emeritus General Authority in 2010, he presided at the St. George Temple. With Marie, he authored books on the Atonement, marriage, and the temple—including the prizewinning biography of Elder Neal A. Maxwell and Faith is Not Blind.
Elizabeth Ann Takasaki
BA ’75 Dance; BA ’79 English
Distinguished Alumni Award
Ann Takasaki grew up in southern Utah, where she was blessed by the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While attending BYU, she performed as a Cougarette and received bachelors degrees in Dance and English. She also completed graduate work at UCLA in movement therapy. While at UCLA, Takasaki worked with veterans and mental health inpatients, practicing therapy and teaching them relaxation techniques.
Takasaki has led a life full of service and volunteering, beginning with her service as a missionary in Sendai, Japan. She has served in various organizations and committees since, including Intermountain Healthcare Women’s Advisory Board, Community Health Connect Board, American Mother’s Association, and as chair of American Medical Association Alliance. Ann has also served on the LDS Young Women’s General Board. She currently services with a women’s leadership training organization teaching safety, education, and self-reliance. Her mantra is: “If it is God's work, I'll do it.” Takasaki and her husband Roman reside in Spanish Fork, Utah and love sharing their lives with the families of their three children.
Dave and Rachel Weidman
BS ’78 Chemical Engineering, (MBA ’80, University of Michigan)
BA ’77 General Studies
Distinguished Alumni Award
Dave and Rachel Weidman met at BYU and were married in 1978. They are the parents of six children and the grandparents of fourteen. While raising their family, they lived and worked in approximately fifteen locations both in the United States and overseas. In his professional life, Dave spent eight years as chairman and CEO of a Fortune 500 global specialty materials and chemical company. After retiring from his professional career in 2012, Rachel and Dave served as mission leaders for the California Los Angeles Mission from 2013–16. After they returned, they were called to serve in the Provo MTC presidency. In 2017, Dave accepted an assignment in the Church Missionary Department and has been its managing director since 2019.
Currently, Dave and Rachel’s lives are focused on philanthropy in cancer research, mental health, the arts, and higher education. Rachel volunteers at the Stella H. Oaks Foundation, whose mission is to empower single mothers through college scholarships and mentoring support. As a member of The Friends of Stella, Rachel is part of a mentoring network that provides support for single mothers on Stella scholarships.
Jorge Cocco Santángelo
Honorary Alumni Award
Jorge Cocco Santángelo is an internationally distinguished painter and art educator. He is the originator of sacrocubism, a distinctive style that fuses sacred subject matter with the aesthetic principles of Cubism. Cocco has exhibited widely across the Americas and Europe. His works are held in numerous collections, including Brigham Young University, the Church History Museum, and the Museum of Biblical Art. His images have appeared on the covers and pages of numerous art and religious publications, and he is the author of several books on art theory and practice. In addition to his artistic career, Cocco contributed to art education through designing the Visual Arts curriculum and serving as an art professor at the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico.
Cocco was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1962, becoming a Latter-day Saint pioneer in his hometown of Entre Ríos, Argentina. He has served extensively in Church leadership throughout his life, including three times as a bishop, three times as a branch president, and as a district president. Jorge and his wife Myriam are the parents of six children and have thirteen grandchildren.
