Tri-State University honored alumnus William Thourlby, who earned a business administration degree at then-Tri-State College in the ’40s, with a plaque on his accomplishments on Sept. 1. The plaque will hang in the TSU library in the new University Center.

Thourlby moved on to a career as a model, actor, author, business owner, and international image consultant. His is the image on the original Marlboro Man ads, and he has appeared in Broadway plays and in such blockbuster films as “The Manchurian Candidate.” He has written three books on the power of image creation, and three U.S. presidents have commissioned him as a wardrobe consultant.

He appeared at TSU in 2007 as part of the Distinguished Speaker series, and will give a presentation in the Ketner School of Business before meeting with TSU students for individual consultations at the end of the month.

He has donated signed copies of his books to the TSU library, where they are displayed near the author’s plaque. “You Are What You Wear,” his first book, made national best seller lists. Today, Thourlby lectures at colleges and universities across the nation, sharing advice from his seminar, “Passport to Power: The Science of Marketing Yourself,” tailored from his book of the same name. He has also transformed his latest book, “Women: The New Power Class,” into a seminar, and accepted an invitation to present it in China.