Alumnus earns national honor

First it was Hoagy Carmichael in 1953. Then it was E. Branch McCraken in 1959, and Col. Ronald J. Webb in 1999. Now, IU Kelly School of Business alumnus Todd Wagner is doing IU more justice, as he was recently named "Kappa Sigma Fraternity Man of the Year."\nWagner will be honored at a reception and dinner program at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Indianapolis Artsgarden for receiving the prestigious national award.\n"I am humbled and honored," Wagner said in an e-mail. "I'm not sure I deserve the award, but I learned a long time ago that sometimes it's better to just shut up and say thank you."\nMitchell Wilson, executive director of the Kappa Sigma Headquarters, said Wager is more than deserving.\n"Wagner has achieved phenomenal business success attracting international acclaim, but the Kappa Sigma Board of Directors chose him as our 'Man of the Year' because of the way he has used his good fortune to help others," he said in a statement. "Through the establishment of his foundation, Todd has contributed millions of dollars, making an enormous difference in the lives of thousands of disadvantaged youth."\nWagner co-founded and served as the CEO of www.broadcast.com in a partnership with fellow business school alumnus Mark Cuban. In 1999, they sold the company to www.Yahoo.com for $5.7 billion. At the time of its sale, www.broadcast.com was the leading Internet destination for multimedia programming.\nWagner also began 2929 Entertainment, HD-Net Films, Magnolia Pictures and Landmark Theatres but recently turned his attention to philanthropy with the creation of the Todd Wagner Foundation, www.toddwagnerfoundation.org, an organization that brings innovative technology to after-school programs for inner-city school children in Dallas.\nWagner has delivered speeches at dozens of business and technology conferences, has appeared on CNBC, CNN and CSPAN and has been featured in leading publications, including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Forbes. In 2002, Forbes ranked Wagner the No. 313 richest man in the world, with a net worth of $750 million.\nKappa Sigma is one of the five largest fraternities, with over 200,000 initiates. According to the 2002 Fraternity Executives Association survey, Kappa Sigma ranks fourth in size for college fraternities based on the number of chapters.\nThe Kappa Sigma Fraternity Man of the Year Award was established in 1937 to honor a brother who has achieved fame in industry, arts, science, government or another professional field. \nJunior Lev Wismer, IU Kappa Sigma president, said the recipients of the award are nominated by a number of people, ranging from Kappa Sigma men to co-workers and family. Nominations for the award are determined by the Kappa Sigma Supreme Executive Committee. \n"The chapter is very happy and honored that Mr. Wagner's accomplishments and contributions to the Beta Theta chapter of Kappa Sigma are being awarded," Wismer said.\nWismer said Kappa Sigma is hosting an alumni open house Saturday evening in which the chapter will give a brief presentation in front of Wagner and nearly 200 other alumni.\n"Wagner is one of the most distinguished alumni, and the work he does just really represents the values that our fraternity and the University tries to instill," Wismer said.\n-- Contact general assignments editor Lori Geller at lfgeller@indiana.edu.