Robert A. Fox
Bachelor of Arts, 1952
A leader past, present, and always, you began your Penn career as a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, the Varsity Club, and as one of the legendary Munger Men. You have just earned the title of Trustee Emeritus, after 14 years of outstanding leadership as a Penn Trustee. In every way, your wisdom, insight, and intellect have helped take your University to greater heights. On the Athletics Advisory Board, you eagerly led the campaign to endow football’s head coach position —in honor of George Munger. Your own broad vision and versatility are exemplified by the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program, engaging students with leaders from business, politics, academia, the arts, and public service. The Program is a magnificent commitment to developing leadership ability by taking education beyond the classroom. Here again you have strengthened the School of Arts and Sciences, where you earlier established the Frederic Fox Professorship in International Economics, in memory of your father. The Fox Art Gallery in Logan Hall is a welcome addition to art venues on campus; it reflects your commitment, as a practicing artist, to artistic expression. Raising Penn’s sights across the board and across the campus, you are also a member of the Governing Board of the Economics Research Institute. In fact, your vision is in evidence in civic, cultural, and educational circles throughout Philadelphia. The Wistar Institute, for instance, dedicated its Structural Biology Center in your name. Your many awards include the De Tocqueville Award and the Cradle of Liberty Council Award.
Married to a Penn alumna and devoted to your family, a business leader, a philanthropist, an artist, an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, you have always put your alma mater high on your long list of personal commitments. Penn could not ask for a more able leader or a more dedicated friend and mentor. It is with deep gratitude and affection, that we present you, Robert A. Fox, with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
H. Jane Gutman
University of Pennsylvania, CW’73
A trekker and a mountaineer, you recently climbed Mt. Whitney. Your aspirations for Penn are correspondingly high. As one of our great regional leaders, you continue to take us with you to the pinnacle. Your Penn connection began when you attended the College for Women. After getting your BA, a Master’s in American Civilization, and another Master’s in Clinical Psychology in three other schools, you followed your heart back to Penn and became our Associate Dean of Undergraduate Admissions. Later, you opened Penn’s office in Los Angeles, serving as its first Director and heading The Campaign for Penn in the western region. Busily recruiting students when Penn was not yet a presence on the West Coast, you raised funds and hosted events that set a standard for University activities. Almost single-handedly, you reconnected our far-flung alumni with their University. Undeterred by the miles yourself, you are on the Board of the Alumni Society and you authored its Alumni Leadership Handbook. You also chair the Society’s self-study project and the Council of Regional Clubs and are a committee member of the Alumni Council on Admissions. A model member of the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women, you are on the Executive Committee, you chair the Leadership Committee, and you put the Council’s mentor page on the web. A past president of the Southern California Alumni Association, you are currently on the Board of the Southern California Scholarship Program and the Regional Alumni Board.
Somehow you manage to have a very active life away from Penn. A psychotherapist by profession, you are also a civic leader. Your fun time includes roller-blading with your two young sons and being a true soccer mom. One of life’s great yea-sayers, you have never said no to Penn, and you always do an extraordinary job. It is with much affection that we gratefully present you, H. Jane Gutman, with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
Jon M. Huntsman
Bachelor of Science in Economics, 1959
Honorary Doctor of Laws, 1996
A towering leader and a great American success story, you shaped the humble egg carton into foundations and centers of hope and enlightenment. Raised in the rural west, you entered Wharton on a scholarship. When you graduated, you were Spoon Man. You were also president of your class and of Sigma Chi fraternity, a member of the Undergraduate Council, the Sphinx senior honor society, the Kite and Key, Phi Beta Kappa, the Varsity Club, and the Athletic Managerial Board, and you were head lacrosse manager. You won the Crown-Zellerbach Foundation Award and, prefiguring the present accolade, you earned the General Alumni Society Award of Merit. You are still a hero at Penn. A former Penn Trustee, you co-chaired the Campaign for Penn, and now chair the Wharton School’s Board of Overseers. You secured Penn’s place as the leader of international business education through the renowned Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. You also gave to our faculty the Center for the Study of Global Competition and Innovation. Recently, you amazed us all by making an unrestricted gift to Wharton that is by far the single largest gift in its history. In gratitude, the School’s great work in progress, Jon M. Huntsman Hall, has been named in your honor. Of your nine children, one son is a Penn Trustee, two are graduates, and one is a current Wharton graduate student. A brother earned his Ph.D. at Wharton and two of your sons-in-law, as well as nephews, are also Wharton graduates.
Your many accomplishments include having served as Special Assistant and White House Staff Secretary to President Nixon. You are now Chairman and C.E.O. of the largest privately-held chemical company in the country. Deeply philanthropic, you and your family provide emergency relief to people around the globe. Among your great gifts to the world are the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Huntsman Center for Environmental Research. You have said that one’s true worth is represented by selfless service to others. With profound and fond appreciation we joyfully follow up on the Alumni Award you won as a student, by presenting you, Jon M. Huntsman, with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
Sally Stull Jannetta
Bachelor of Science, 1957
As dynamic as you are dedicated, you don’t stop until you achieve your goals. Fortunately, many of your goals involve Penn. As a Penn undergraduate you were an officer of the Delta Delta Delta Sorority and an active member of the Freshman Dorm Council and the Christian Association. Already dedicated to your life-long pursuit of helping people, you earned your degree in Physical Therapy. As a loyal alumna, you give extraordinary amounts of time and energy to Penn. Class President since 1992, you serve as Reunion Co-Chair and rally valuable support for Annual Giving. You are an enthusiastic member of the new Alumni Club of Philadelphia. At the same time, you are on the Executive Board of the Organized Classes and the Executive Board of the Alumni Society where you serve as House Co-Chair, making the E. Craig Sweeten Alumni House a home for all alumni. You are also the immediate Past President of the Association of Alumnae and an ex-officio member of the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women. For two decades you have worked hard for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, you have a successful career as a realtor and volunteer your leadership for several philanthropic organizations in the Philadelphia community.
With family your top priority, we are fortunate that you take the term “Penn family” literally. Married to a Penn alumnus who has also earned an Alumni Award of Merit, you raised your three sons to earn two Penn degrees each. You even gained a Penn daughter-in-law along the way. A family of fanatic Penn basketball fans, you travel as far as Seattle, Puerto Rico, and Italy to root for your favorite Quakers. Now it is time for us to cheer you. Fondly acknowledging you as a true daughter of Penn, and in gratitude for your extraordinary devotion and service, we present you, Sally Stull Jannetta, with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
Lee E. Shlifer
Bachelor of Arts, 1974
A collaborative agent of change, you always march under the Penn banner In fact, you’re the one who decided there should be an Organized Classes flag for the Alumni Day Parade of Classes. You also initiated the Annual Alumni Run that has become a tradition of Alumni Weekend. As a College of General Studies student, you majored in psychology and were active in intramural sports. Ever since, you have been one of the Quakers’ greatest fans and most enthusiastic alumni. You served two terms as Class President and participated on every reunion committee. As a Penn Fund volunteer you strengthened the cause. Becoming increasingly committed, you served on the Executive Board of the Alumni Society. Recently, you made a major difference in the lives of regional alumni. Thanks largely to your efforts, we now have a Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia, which has gotten off to a rousing start with you as its inaugural President. You are also a great friend and mentor to younger and future alumni. When you were President of the Organized Classes, on whose Executive Board you still serve, you broadened the scope of classes represented on the Board to include young alumni. Currently you serve the Admissions Office on the Secondary Schools Committee. Recently you helped the Bergen County Academies, a program for gifted high school students, arrange a three-day summer program at Penn in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. You generously give memberships at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to young people to introduce them to great art.
When you are not working hard for Penn, you are busy as a business leader and community volunteer. Always enthusiastic about bringing people together and strengthening causes, you co-founded the Union of Recent Eastern College Alumni. Working everywhere to strengthen Penn’s visibility, you never falter in your love for your alma mater. A stalwart, committed Penn citizen, you make sure that all our organizations share information and databases, that they co-sponsor events and programs, and that they work together as members of the Penn team. You do it all with great good humor and originality. In gratitude for your pioneering achievements, we fondly present you, Lee E. Shlifer, with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
Douglas Q. L. Yee
Bachelor of Science in Economics, 1965
Master of Business Administration, 1967
Aloha to Penn’s special ambassador in the Honolulu area and our most loyal and dedicated alumnus in all of Hawaii. The profound connection you have with Penn began when you came all the way from your native Hawaii to pursue an undergraduate degree at Wharton and stayed on to earn a graduate degree. While a student, you belonged to the National Society of the Scabbard and Blade, an Army honor society, and to the Association of the United States Army. As an alumnus, you were the driving force in founding the University of Pennsylvania Club of Hawaii. Under your leadership, the Club thrives on varied programming and an active student recruitment committee. A long-time student interviewer yourself, you were known for attending every meeting of the Secondary School Committee. The Club’s high attendance record today may have to do with the entertaining stories you tell … like the one about piloting some Penn alumni across the waters from the Big Island to Oahu when your plane developed engine trouble. Urged to issue a Mayday call, you delayed, explaining that a Wharton graduate always solves his own problems. Your passengers were relieved when you—and the plane—rose to the challenge. Throughout Hawaii you are known for your sense of humor, hospitality, and graciousness. You and your wife have hosted countless Penn people, including deans, provosts, and the Penn Counterparts.
Dedicated to your family—your daughter recently graduated from the College—you are also a business and civic leader. You were recently selected for the newly formed Council of Personal Representatives of the National Institutes of Health. In every way, you are a marvelous, hard working leader who has always responded with enthusiasm to any Penn project. In gratitude and with the greatest affection, we are pleased to present you, Douglas Q. L. Yee, with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
