(L to R): Pat Kahle, Clarion University Alumni Association Board of Directors president; David Gibbins; Reggie Wells Jr.; Joyce Rocco, Dr Frank Rocco's wife; F. Suzanne (Stewart) Jenniches; Dr. Robert Girvan; Wayne Norris, representing the Alpha Gamma Phi fraternity; and Joesph P. Grunenwald, Clarion University president.

     An overflow crowd of alumni and friends of Clarion University packed Pittsburgh's Duquesne Club to honor its own during Extravaganza 2010 on Saturday, April 24.

     The Clarion University Alumni Association honored five individuals and a fraternity with Alumni Association Distinguished Awards during the event, which helps to raise money for student scholarship.

     "We thank these individuals for honoring us," said President Joseph P. Grunenwald as he presented the recipients to the attendees.  "We have a leader in industrial science, one in education, one in health care, and one in the arena.  We also honor a professor who works on behalf of our students what seems to be 24 hours a day, and a group of brothers who have reconnected with their university.  Fly, Eagles, Fly."

      Honored were:

      F. Suzanne (Stewart) Jenniches, a 1970 graduate with a degree in biology, Distinguished Alumni. She spent nine years teaching and studying in the evening to earn an engineering degree from Johns Hopkins University. She joined Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group, which was purchased by Norhrop Grumman in 1996. In 1981, she was a part of a team that developed the electronically scanned radar for the B-1b bomber. Currently, she is the vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's government systems division's three business areas: postal automation, defense communications, and homeland defense. The primary products and services for domestic and international defense and government agencies include postal automation, air traffic control communications and navigation systems, C3I military communications, satellite ground stations, InfoSec, surveillance robots, and a variety of security sensors and systems in support of homeland defense.

      Emcee Mark R. Demich, a 1979 Clarion graduate, read the following statement from the Communication Department at Northrop Grumman Corporation's Electronic Systems sector:  "Although we are not able to be with Suzanne in person this evening, it is with great pride that we celebrate with her this well-deserved recognition from Clarion University.   Her selection for this honor underscores the outstanding leadership characteristics of the women and men of Clarion.  The fundamental skills and values that she received from her alma mater served her well in her many years as an engineer, executive, and mentor at Northrop Grumman."

     The late Dr Frank Rocco, a 1962 graduate with a degree in education, Distinguished Service. Overcoming a tough beginning on the rough North Side streets of Pittsburgh, Rocco had an over 40-year career in education. The son of first generation immigrants, Rocco was accepted at Clarion University and got the items he needed for living on campus when his sister-in-law gathered S & H Green Stamps from neighbors for that purpose. Following his Clarion graduation he earned a fellowship to study peripatology, orientation and mobility of the blind, at Boston College, earning a master's degree. His Ph.D. came from Michigan State University; and he completed postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota. He taught in the field of visual impairment at the Society of St. Vincent De Paul and Sumner High School of St. Louis, and was superintendent at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, Vinton, Iowa, for three years. In1972, he joined the faculty of the special education department at Winona State University, Winona, Minn. He retired in May 2007 as professor emeritus. Rocco joined the Clarion University Alumni Association Board of Directors in 2003, and was still a member at the time of his death in 2008. He established the Dr. Frank and Joyce Rocco Endowed Scholarship for students intending to teach at Clarion University. His wife, Joyce, accepted the award.

     David Gibbons, who received an associate degree in nursing in 1986 and bachelor's degree in business administration in 1992,from Clarion University - Venango Campus Distinguished Alumni. Gibbons, a Venango County native, was named president of UPMC Northwest in Seneca in March, 2009. His appointment was truly a homecoming, as Gibbons began his career at UPMC Northwest's predecessor, Northwest Medical Center, 22 years earlier as a registered nurse in the oncology unit. Prior to joining UPMC, Gibbons served as vice president for operations at the Kennedy Health System in southern New Jersey, director of managed care for the Visiting Nurses Association of Greater Philadelphia, and regional director of operations, marketing and finance for Oncology Services, Inc., and several clinical posts within U.S. Healthcare in Blue Bell. He earned a master's degree in health administration from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia in 1999. He later served as an adjunct faculty member at St. Joseph's University, where he received the Graduate Arts & Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence in 2004-2005.

     Reggie Wells Jr., a 2008 graduate with a degree in communication, Distinguished Achievement. Wells became the second Clarion University graduate to play in the NFL and the first to play in the Super Bowl, as the starting right guard and a team captain for the Arizona Cardinals. This award made Wells the second member of his family to receive Alumni Association recognition. His mother, Diane (Logan '79) Wells received the Distinguished Volunteer Award in 2003. His father, Reggie Wells Sr. ('08), a member of the Clarion University Sports Hall of Fame for his basketball exploits, and brother Ryan Wells ('06) are also Clarion University graduates. He was a four-year starter at Clarion and a two-time NCAA Division II All-America and all-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) choice was selected to play in the Whataburger Cactus Bowl following his senior season. Being drafted prevented Wells from graduating, something his father also had not completed when he left to play basketball internationally. Father and son made a commitment to complete their degrees and succeeded together in 2008.

     Dr. Robert Girvan, professor of sociology, Distinguished Faculty. Girvan is concluding 40 plus years in the classroom, the last 36 years at Clarion University when he retires in May. He has tried to blend three roles, faculty, parent/spouse, and citizen. He has served as an example of tolerance and understanding to his students and in the community through being part of a trans-racial family and involvement with the beginning of many university equity initiatives. He received his B.A. in history from Gettysburg College, M.A. in history at the University of Denver, and a Ph.D. in sociology/education from University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo. During his graduate school years following the lead of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by becoming active in the Vietnam War opposition through the American Friends of Service Committee. He also worked on the United Farm Workers of America lettuce and grape boycotts and AFSC South End Project in Boston refurbishing buildings to soften the consequences of that neighborhood's gentrification. Recruited to be one of the founding staff for the Clarion University Flexible All-Year Experimental School, he joined Clarion University in 1973. When the experimental school closed around 1980, he became a sociology faculty member.

     Alpha Gamma Phi Fraternity, Distinguished Volunteer. The Gammas, as the fraternity was most frequently called, sparked by interested alumni, started a fund drive raising over $120,000 in scholarship money and have organized many alumni activities. The social fraternity was started in 1930 making it the oldest fraternity at Clarion University. The membership centered around Clarion's athletes and it remained a local, despite heavy recruiting by national fraternities. Gamma alumni Wayne Norris was a catalyst for organizing the Alpha Gama Phi alumni in 1999. In 2000, the fraternity had its first reunion, organized, drew up bylaws, and elected officers and a board of directors to set the goals of the fraternity with a goal of giving back to Clarion. The giving took the form of a scholarship. Setting a goal of $50,000 and propelled by a gift of $15,000, they met the goal in a year. The Alpha Gamma Phi Scholarship was first awarded in 2001 to an incoming freshman student athlete. The scholarship fund has reached the $120,000 mark and another drive to increase it is coming in 2010. There are currently 550 people on Alpha Gamma Phi's mailing list and 200 dues paying members.

     Fine dining was accompanied by an exclusive performance of "The Magical Kingdom," featuring the Clarion University Show Choir, singing and dancing a musical medley of beloved children's stories.  The Show Choir is comprised of Clarion students as well as children of alumni and the community.

     Tickets for the event were $200 with proceeds benefitting the Alumni Endowment and the Alumni Association Athletic Endowment, which provide funding for student scholarships.

     Clarion University is the high-achieving, nationally recognized, comprehensive university that delivers a personal and challenging academic experience.