UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Smeal College of Business has named Edward R. Hintz the 2018 recipient of the Robert W. Moore Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor that Smeal can bestow upon its graduates.
Hintz, who has supported Penn State and Smeal for more than 60 years, was honored recently with a dinner in his honor at Centre Hills Country Club.
“Ed truly embodies all that is good about Penn State. He has taken his business education and built a long and successful career,” said Charles H. Whiteman, John and Becky Surma Dean of Smeal.
“And from the fruits of that labor, he and (his wife) Helen have made it their personal mission to offer transformative opportunities to students not just at Smeal but across the University — students who leave Penn State better prepared to make their own mark in the world because of the impact that Ed and Helen have made in their lives.”
The Robert W. Moore Lifetime Achievement Award is presented, at the discretion of the dean, to an individual who has achieved a high level of success in his or her career and who has demonstrated unwavering support of the college through his or her service and philanthropy, particularly through leadership positions on various Smeal College boards and committees.
Hintz graduated from Penn State in 1959 with a degree in finance and went on to earn an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1963. Eleven years later, he founded HHR Asset Management, a private money management firm specializing in investment management for individuals. Today he serves as president of Hintz Capital Management.
Hintz is a past president of the Smeal Alumni Society Board and is a current member of the Smeal Board of Visitors. He was one of the founding members of the Board of Visitors alongside distinguished Penn Staters like Frank Smeal, Bill Schreyer, and Richard Bard. He also is the founding chairman of Smeal’s student-run hedge fund, the Nittany Lion Fund, a role he filled for 10 years.
“Ed and Helen are very invested in helping students become better people and better leaders, which is most evident with their gift to create Penn State’s Presidential Leadership Academy in the Schreyer Honors College,” Whiteman said.
The program seeks to develop students’ critical thinking and leadership capacities through classes, biannual field trips, guest speakers, and discussions.
Hintz has been a champion of diversity and inclusivity at Penn State. Martha Jordan, former partner at Latham & Watkins LLP and a member of the Board of Visitors, shared that as the inaugural woman to join the board, Hintz was the first to welcome her to the group. Over the years, she said, Hintz offered valuable lessons on the importance of family and philanthropy. And with his support and encouragement, she became a leader in the University’s “For the Future” campaign among other high-level volunteer positions.
Paul Birch, a Smeal risk management (actuarial science) major and a member of the Presidential Leadership Academy, lauded Hintz during the dinner.
“Ed plays a very active role in ensuring that the PLA continues to meet its objectives in exposing students to diverse viewpoints that help them develop into well-rounded leaders. In doing so, Ed and Helen stand not as far-off founders of the organization but rather as highly engaged role models for how true leaders should behave,” Birch said.
“Though we may receive leadership training through speakers, classes and trips, the very visible example of a humble, actively learning, highly engaged leader at the helm of the program is perhaps the best leadership training Ed could provide.”
Rich Bundy, Penn State’s vice president for development and alumni relations, spoke about the extent of Hintz’s contributions to Penn State and Smeal.
“Ed Hintz has transformed our institution not only through his own gifts, but also through his work to build a broader culture of giving at the University,” Bundy said. “If you walk across the University Park campus, you cannot go far without encountering a structure, program or student who has been impacted by Ed and Helen’s generosity.”