Jax State Announces Alumni of the Year Award Winners

08/04/2024

JACKSONVILLE —Jacksonville State University National Alumni Association has announced four distinguished graduates who will receive the school’s highest alumni honors. These annual awards recognize alumni for their exceptional professional achievements, community service, and civic activities.

Barry Matson, ‘86, 2024 Alumnus of the Year, is an accomplished Alabama attorney who has served as Executive Director of the Alabama District Attorney’s Association, Alabama Office of Prosecution Services, National Computer Forensic Institute, and the Alabama District Attorneys Foundation. He is a career advocate for justice with more than 34 years of litigation experience in the courtroom, as well as a teacher, legislative advocate and policymaker with an intense focus on protecting citizens by spearheading the passage of important legislation such as Alabama’s national model Computer Crimes Act, Protection Against Online Solicitation of Children Act, Human Trafficking Act, Safe Harbor Act protecting juvenile victims of Human Trafficking, and many others.

Wenona Jones Switzer ‘64, 2024 Alumna of the Year, was the first female in the southeastern United States to become a field agent for the Internal Revenue Service. Mrs. Switzer was named one of the Outstanding Young Women of America and received several superior performance awards from the IRS. After paying her way through college, Mrs. Switzer graduated from Jax State with the highest honors, with a double major in Business and English. In addition to her career accolades, Mrs. Switzer served her community in Huntsville, Alabama, in multiple ways. She was the first female trustee in church history at First Baptist Church Huntsville, serving three terms as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. She also served two terms as President of the Historic Huntsville Foundation and was President of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Guild.

Keaton Brooks Glass ’17,’21, 2024 Young Alum of the Year, is a two-time Jax State graduate from Leeds, Alabama. Mr. Glass completed his undergraduate degree in Secondary Education, Mathematics in 2017 and a Master of Business Administration in 2021. As a student, Mr. Glass was heavily involved in campus life and serving Jax State in numerous ways, including becoming a member of Freshman Forum, the JSU Ambassadors, Gamecock Orientation Leader and Coordinator, Kappa Mu Epsilon Mathematics Honor Society, and was named “Intern of the Year” by the Phi Delta Kappa Teacher’s Honor Society. Mr. Glass began his career in higher education in 2018 and currently serves as Director of First and Second Year Experience at Jax State. Some of his most notable accomplishments include acting as Advisor for the Lambda Sigma Sophomore Honor Society (which hosts an annual bed drive for Calhoun County children—raising over $16,000 and building more than 150 beds for local children over the past four years) and serving as the state coordinator of Alabama’s National Orientation Directors Association. 

Colonel Manuel F. Ramirez ‘98, Military Alumnus of the Year, is the Deputy National Security Agency Senior Representative to United States Central Command. He received a commission as a military officer in 1998 through Jacksonville State University’s ROTC program while earning a master’s degree in biology. As part of the Army’s Branch Detailing program, he initially served as a chemical officer, and in 2002, Col. Ramirez became a military intelligence officer. In 2009, Col. Ramirez was selected by the Army to attend the Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies where he focused on advanced military studies and military strategy. Upon completing the program, he deployed for a year-long combat tour in Iraq as an intelligence planner supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. In 2011, Col. Ramirez began to work for the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland, and from 2014 to 2016, he acted as a commander of a remote technical site in Alice Springs, Australia. Upon returning to the States, he commanded the 743rd Military Intelligence Battalion, and in 2019, Col. Ramirez graduated from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barrack, PA. Col. Ramirez has received many awards and decorations, including one Legion of Merit Medal and two bronze stars.

“These four alumni exemplify the highest standards of excellence,” said Dr. Wendy L. Cash, Director of Alumni Engagement. “Jax State has a proven history of producing positive difference makers. These alumni embody all our university stands for and the caliber of graduates to which we hope all will aspire. Each of these Jax State alumni has embraced the education given to them by our university, capitalized on opportunities provided to them beyond their formal education, and, with determination and perseverance, committed to the betterment of the community around them.”

The Alumni of the Year awards will be presented to the recipients on Saturday, September 21, 2024, during Homecoming festivities. More detailed information on each of the recipients and the award presentation can be found on Jax State’s Alumni of the Year Awards web page.