Twenty-two Penn State alumni will be honored Oct. 16 for their outstanding professional accomplishments and given the lifelong title of Alumni Fellow, the highest award given by the Penn State Alumni Association. 

Since the award was established in 1973, more than 700 alumni have been honored with the title of Alumni Fellow, designated a permanent and lifelong title by the Penn State Board of Trustees. This represents one-eighth of 1 percent of all 616,000 living Penn State alumni.

“The Alumni Fellow program showcases the significant contributions Penn Staters make to our nation and the world every day,” said Roger L. Williams, executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association. “Even more important, it provides our fellows the opportunity to share their experience and wisdom with students, faculty and staff, thus adding an extra dimension to Penn State’s academic programs.”

This year’s Alumni Fellow recipients, along with their graduation year, current title, career affiliation and hometown, are:

-- Cheryl Lynn Allen ’69, superior court judge, Superior Court of Pennsylvania (Allison Park, Pa.);

-- Nancy J. Anderson ’97g, chief information officer, General Electric Transportation (North East, Pa.);

-- MeeCee Baker ’82, ’94g, chief operating officer and managing partner, Versant Strategies (Port Royal, Pa.);

-- O. Richard Bundy Jr. ’70, ’87g, professor of music education and director of the Penn State Blue Band, Penn State (State College, Pa.);

-- Anthony J. Buzzelli ’71, retired, vice chairman and regional managing partner for the Pacific Southwest, Deloitte & Touche LLP (Somerset, Va.);

-- Peter R. Dal Pezzo ’68, president and chief executive officer, Elevon (Henderson, Nev.);

-- Joanne F. Finegan ’83, chief executive officer and managing partner, ReMed Recovery Care Centers (West Chester, Pa.);

-- Anna M. Gomez ’89, partner, Wiley Rein LLP (McLean, Va.);

-- Robert Eugene Harbaugh ’78g, director, Penn State Institute of the Neurosciences; distinguished professor and chair, Department of Neurosurgery; professor, engineering science and mechanics, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (Hershey, Pa.);

-- Elizabeth M. King ’79, vice president of global human resource solutions and services, Starbucks Corp. (Bellevue, Wash.);

-- Gay Krause, founder and executive director, Krause Center for Innovation, Foothill College (Los Altos, Calif.);

-- Jane A. Leipold ’82, ’88g, senior vice president of human resources, TE Connectivity (Harrisburg, Pa.);

-- Mark X. Lima '87, vice president of news, Fusion (Miami);

-- Grace Litak-Jaswinski ’78, ’80g, contract manager of commercial contract management and negotiations, Hewlett-Packard (Scranton, Pa.);

-- Jean M. Lydon-Rodgers ’85, vice president and general manager of military systems, General Electric Aviation (Cincinnati);

-- Gary Ralph Matyas ’78, research scientist; chief, Adjuvants and Formulation Section, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (Olney, Md.);

-- Antonio F. Pensa ’67g, ’69g, assistant director emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (Jamestown, R.I.);

-- Tom Richardson ’90g, chief executive officer, AgResearch Ltd. (Rotorua, New Zealand);

-- Susan Saint Sing ’78, ’04g, author; head coach, North Palm Beach Rowing Club (Stuart, Fla.);

-- Matthew W. Schuyler ’87, chief human resources officer, Hilton Worldwide (McLean, Va.);

-- Andrew M. Sieg ’89, head of Global Wealth and Retirement Solutions, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Greenwich, Conn.);

-- Simon Ziff ’87, president, Ackman-Ziff (Armonk, N.Y.).

The Alumni Fellow program is administered by the Penn State Alumni Association in cooperation with the University’s academic colleges, campuses and the Office of the President. Alumni are nominated by a college or campus as leaders in their professional fields and accept an invitation from the President of the University to return to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty and administrators. Each Alumni Fellow will receive a commemorative award, designed and hand cast by Jeanne Stevens-Sollman ’72g, an acclaimed sculptor and medalist, and an Alumni Fellow.

The Penn State Alumni Association is the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world with more than 172,000 members. Established in 1870, the Alumni Association strives to connect alumni to the University and to each other, provide valuable benefits to members and support the University’s mission of teaching, research and service. For more information on the Alumni Association, visit alumni.psu.edu.