On Friday, three Western alumni will join about 70 other accomplished graduates in the Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

They’ll be inducted at 11:30 a.m. at the Sloan Convention Center, said Donald Smith, assistant vice president of the alumni association.

Alumni have been inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni since 1992.

Honorees include Dero Downing, for whom Downing University Center is named; John Carpenter, director of “Halloween;” and Duncan Hines, founder of the Duncan Hines baking mix company.

This year’s inductees are:

Sharron Francis, a 1965 graduate and research professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

She received her doctorate in medical physiology from Vanderbilt in 1970 and did her postdoctoral work at Washington University in Bethesda, Md., she said.

Her research, which is focused on ways cells regulate their functions, helped with developing treatments for erectile disfunction and pulmonary hypertension, such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, according to the Alumni Association Web site.

Francis said that what she learned from her professors at Western provided her with a strong scholastic background in her graduate studies.

“The interest they showed made a huge change in my life, and I’m very grateful,” she said.

Francis was member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and was on the Talisman staff, she said.

Jimmie Gipson, a 1963 graduate and CEO of Houchens Industries since 1993.

Gipson was the 2007 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the Kentucky and Ohio region, according to the Web site.

Last year, Houchens ranked 140 on Forbes magazine’s list of the largest privately held companies.

Gipson initiated the company’s donation to Smith Stadium. Under Gipson’s direction, Houchens also sponsors events for Bowling Green non-profit groups, such as the Boys and Girls Club, according to the Web site.

Gipson couldn’t be reached for comment.

Bill Strode, a 1959 graduate and photojournalist.

He died in 2006, according to the Web site.

Strode worked for the Louisville Courier-Journal for 17 years as a photographer and editor, according to the Web site. He won two Pulitzer Prize awards, which he shared with his Courier-Journal staff members.

The first was for public service in 1967 for a series about strip mining in eastern Kentucky. The second was for feature photography in 1976 for coverage of court-ordered busing in Louisville, according to the Web site.

He was also a freelance photographer for publications such as National Geographic, Time and The Washington Post after he left the Courier-Journal in 1976, according to the Web site.

Strode helped develop Western’s photojournalism program, according to the Web site.

Strode’s daughter, Michelle Bartholomew, of Louisville, said his induction is bittersweet for her family.

“It’s wonderful, but it’s sad that he’s not here to receive it,” Bartholomew said. “He was great at what he did, fabulous at what he did.”

Reach Christina Howerton at news@chherald.com.