University Park, Pa. -- Five longtime Penn State champions and benefactors were recognized by the Penn State Alumni Association and named honorary alumni at a June 3 ceremony at the Nittany Lion Inn. Officially recognized for their significant contributions to Penn State's welfare, reputation and prestige were: Richard T. Clark, chairman of Merck Pharmaceuticals; J.D. Hammond, dean emeritus of the Smeal College of Business; Kurt Moses, Holocaust survivor, author, and lecturer; Eva J. Pell, under secretary of science at the Smithsonian Institution; and John L. Brown Jr., who was given the distinction posthumously for his lifelong dedication to Penn State academics and the arts.
"Because of their strong commitment and dedication to Penn State, people often assume these five outstanding individuals must be graduates of the University,” said Barry M. Simpson president of the Alumni Association. "Today, it is my privilege to officially welcome them to our ranks as very deserving honorary alumni."
The ceremony also featured the presentation of the 2011 Distinguished Alumni and Philanthropist of the Year awards.
The Penn State Alumni Association has given the Honorary Alumni Award since 1973 to recognize individuals who, while not graduates of Penn State, have significantly worked toward bettering the University. Since the award was established, nearly 100 individuals have been given Honorary Alumni status. Honorary Alumni receive a life membership in the Penn State Alumni Association, as well as a commemorative award. For more information about the Honorary Alumni Award and to read a full biography of each recipient, go to www.alumni.psu.edu/awards/individual online.
This year's honorees are:
John L. Brown Jr. Bown's dedication to Penn State went way beyond statistical communication theory, his area of expertise. Although deep space communication links are now possible because of his research, for six decades until his passing on Feb. 20, Brown gave back to the community, the arts, the students and ultimately to the future of the University. Brown retired from Penn State in 1987 and was named professor emeritus of electrical engineering but remained active and engaged in all of his varied interests. He and his wife, Marlynn "Lynn" Steele Sidehamer, established the John L. Brown Jr. endowed scholarship in the College of Engineering and the John L. Brown and Marlynn Steele Sidehamer endowment for the Center for the Performing Arts in 2008. Brown left his collection of rare books to the University Libraries and selected works of art to the Palmer Museum of Art.
Richard T. Clark. As current chairman and former CEO of Merck, Clark has spent more than four decades as part of a company that provides opportunities for Penn State students and alumni through its strong internship program and its designation of Penn State as one of only 24 universities in the United States as a core partner to identify future talent. A history major, Clark credits his liberal arts education and a series of great mentors and managers for his ascension through the ranks of the Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company. Under Clark's leadership, the company received recognition as one of the top donors in America by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and ranked second in the 2010 Access to Medicines Index, for its work in assisting global health initiatives.
J.D. Hammond. For Hammond, it was not the destination but the journey. Hammond served as dean of the Smeal College of Business from 1989 to 1999 and is credited with leading the college to recognition as one of the leading business programs in the country. During his tenure as dean, Penn State and the college received a landmark gift from Frank and Mary Jean Smeal. He also focused on retaining key faculty and recruiting new faculty as well as involving more alumni. Hammond served, at Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh's invitation in 1980, on the Committee for the Comprehensive Review of the State Workers' Compensation Insurance Fund.
Kurt Moses. Moses never envisioned himself as a public speaker, but his first-hand accounts of his experiences at Auschwitz, Westerbork and Terezin concentration camps have become powerful messages for more than 20 years at Penn State Harrisburg and University Park. Encouraged by his rabbi to share his story, Moses spoke to standing-room-only crowds of several hundred students. His message was simple: it's the current generation's responsibility to make sure something like the Holocaust never happens again. Moses and his wife, Doris, were honored by Penn State Harrisburg in 2009 for their lifelong dedication to Holocaust education and Jewish studies at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Harrisburg. He also put his life to the written page by penning "Home at Last: Auschwitz Survivor."
Eva J. Pell. Currently the under secretary of science at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Pell spent nearly four decades at Penn State guiding students with her passion for science and building the University's esteemed ranking in research and development. Prior to her term in the research office, expenditures were $393 million. By 2009, they reached $765 million and garnered the University a ninth-place ranking nationally among all public and private universities in R&D expenditures in science and engineering, according to the National Science Foundation. A recipient of grants totaling more than $7 million and the author or co-author of more than 100 publications and 65 abstracts, Pell is recognized internationally for her research in the field of plant pathology.