William A. Oleckno of DeKalb is the recipient of a 2012 Willard W. Patty Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University School of Public Health.

This award, named after the school’s first dean, is presented annually to graduates of the school who have demonstrated outstanding personal and professional achievement. The honor was presented to Oleckno on Oct. 19 during an alumni recognition banquet held on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

Oleckno is currently a distinguished teaching professor emeritus with the School of Nursing and Health Studies in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Northern Illinois University. He is a former coordinator of the undergraduate and graduate public health programs, which he originally developed and then directed for many years.