Judith Roth Berkowitz
Bachelor of Arts, 1964
Last year you were the guiding spirit behind our Celebration of 125 Years of Women at Penn. Tonight we celebrate 42 Years of Judith Roth Berkowitz at Penn.
The year is 1960 — you begin your student career as President of the freshman class and go on to become President of Sigma Delta Tau, Chair of Senior Sing and Play, and a member of the Campus Guides. Majoring in history, you make the Dean’s List. You also meet your future husband, Howard, who goes on to receive his own Alumni Award of Merit.
In 1970, two years after your son is born, you give birth to a future Penn alumna, Sandy. Through the years, you maintain a deep commitment to Penn, and in 1987 you help found, and then chair, the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women. Your success with the mentoring program earns a story in the New York Times, publicity that leads to TCPW becoming a model for schools across the country. In 1989, you are the dynamic co-chair of your Class’s 25th Reunion. It is also the year in which you join the Women’s Studies Advisory Board. Soon after, you create the Judith Roth Berkowitz Endowed Lectureship in Women’s Studies, a program that continues to bring distinguished speakers to our campus. In 1992, you join the University’s Board of Trustees and serve for two terms. In 1994, you and your husband establish the Judith R. and Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in Education. A year later, you join the Board of Overseers of the Graduate School of Education, which you currently chair. Your advocacy draws other volunteers to the School, especially its Board, and you are successful in raising the School’s profile at Penn and beyond. From 1996 to 1999, you serve on the Executive Committee of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. As co-chair of the James Brister Society, you take an active role in strengthening the cultural diversity of Penn’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
And then comes 2001, a banner year for you and for Penn, as you carefully orchestrate every detail of the 125th, making yourself available day and night to ensure that the event is excellent in every way. With your characteristic passion for inclusiveness, you draw as many women as possible into the planning process and even create a video to spread the excitement to those who cannot attend; the results exceed all expectations. Your inspiration, energy, and dedication are evidenced by the Women’s Walkway and the Class of ’49 Generational Bridge, concrete examples of the history that “paved the way” for Penn’s present and future greatness. The overall goal of inspiring women to remain engaged with Penn is also achieved. The momentum and excitement continue with events on campus and across the country.
All of these things you have done for Penn while raising a family, presiding over your own business, and serving charitable causes. You are the ideal volunteer, paving the way while waiving the pay. In appreciation of your generous and visionary spirit, we proudly present you with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
John F. Gamba
Bachelor of Science in Economics, 1961
You have often remarked that Penn changed your life and that you remain forever grateful for the four-year scholarship sponsored by your local Penn alumni club in New Jersey that made it all possible. Over the years, you have more than demonstrated your gratitude and your worthiness.
As an undergraduate, you were a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity. An outstanding athlete, you earned varsity letters in basketball and sprint football, were voted most valuable player of sprint football, and selected as an Eastern League first team quarterback. In addition, you were Vice President of your Senior Class and a member of the Sphinx Senior Honor Society and Kite & Key. It was at Penn that you met your future wife, Mary Anne, now the holder of two Penn degrees and an active Penn volunteer. Your alumnus son, John, did you both proud by winning the Senior Cane Honor Award.
Your leadership and strong sense of engagement have carried over to your life as an alumnus. You were an active member of the Middle Atlantic Regional Advisory Board; the Wharton Alumni Club of Washington, D.C.; and Penn’s Agenda for Excellence Council. Currently you serve as President of the Class of 1961 and as a member of the Alumni Class Leadership Council, the Alumni Society Council of Representatives, and the Secondary Schools Committee. A leading member of the Executive Committee of your Class’s 40th Reunion, you helped bring in a record class gift. As a Vice President of the Southwest Florida Alumni Club, you have played an important role in its resurgence, hosting receptions and dramatically increasing membership. As Chairman of the Club’s Scholarship Committee, you spearheaded the effort to create an annual Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament and are in the process of creating another tournament for Ivy League alumni clubs in your area. You also demonstrate your support for student financial aid through your service on the University’s Committee for Undergraduate Financial Aid and through the John F. and Mary Anne Spolar Gamba Scholarship.
Now retired from the position of Senior Vice President of Bell Atlantic Corporation, you bring to your service at Penn the qualities that made you a leader as a student and in your profession. Here at your alma mater you are appreciated for jumping in and doing whatever needs to be done, even volunteering to ‘‘try out a crazy idea or do something no one else is willing to do,” often with great success. We know that whatever you decide to do, you do wholeheartedly, always boosting the spirits and energy of those around you. Your good humor and dedication have won you our special gratitude, and we are proud to present you with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
Andrea Mitchell
Bachelor of Arts, 1967
A Penn alumna who brings world events into American homes, you are often first on the scene of history in the making. Through the quality of your work, you are making history of your own.
As a Penn student with a passion for music, you considered making performing your life’s work. Instead, you turned to another stage and set your course for a profession in which you have become world-renowned. Beginning your training at WXPN as a broadcaster and program director and at KYW as a student reporter, you joined KYW after graduation as a reporter for the police beat. Having survived that test, you went on to tackle more challenging roles, and eventually earn your current post as Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News.
While your interests and paths have taken you to all corners of the globe, you have always remained close to your alma mater, and your Penn ties include your alumni brother. The School of Arts and Sciences, where you support the Andrea Mitchell Term Chair in English, benefited from your leadership during your two terms as an Overseer; you currently chair the Annenberg School for Communication Advisory Committee. You have served Penn as an Alumni and Term Trustee, lending your talents to the Executive Committee, Academic Policy Committee, Honorary Degrees and Awards Committee, and the External Affairs Committee, which you still chair. We are thrilled that earlier today you were appointed a Charter Trustee. As a founding member of the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women, you delivered the keynote address for its first Career Dinner, an annual event for Penn junior women, and we were honored to have you serve as a keynote speaker at the Celebration of 125 Years of Women at Penn. It is less known that you bring great music into Penn’s life by supporting the all-female Cassatt String Quartet’s residency on our campus for 2002-2003.
An invaluable world-wide representative of the University, you speak eloquently on our behalf in Washington, D.C. and on campus at events such as Ivy Day. You have inspired students as a Commencement Speaker for the College of Arts and Sciences and as the inaugural speaker of SAS’s Lessons in Leadership alumni lecture series. We are proud that yours is the voice visitors hear during the Alumni Society’s Self-Guided Walking Tour of our campus.
For your pioneering work as a broadcast journalist, you have received countless awards, and you are instantly recognizable to viewers of The Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, the Today show, and MSNBC. In fact, you were named the most visible woman in network TV and twice nominated for Emmy Awards for your outstanding work in Iraq, Kenya, and Tanzania. You have also won a special place in the hearts of those you serve through your work for the Girl Scouts of Washington, D.C. and the board of the National Chamber Orchestra. For always including Penn on your beat, we gratefully present to you the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
John P. Mulroney
Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, 1957
Master of Chemical Engineering, 1959
A friend and classmate of yours has said that you have made the Engineering School and the University an integral part of your life. There is ample evidence that your commitment was strong from the very beginning and has never wavered.
An outstanding undergraduate, you were a member of the Sigma Tau Honor Society and were also elected to the Hexagon Senior Society for excellence in extracurricular activities, including serving as President of the Towne School Council, School Chairman for Engineer’s Day, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Student Chapter. Upon graduation, you won the Engineers Club of Philadelphia Award and the American Cyanamid Co. Graduate Fellowship, which you applied toward earning your master’s degree at Penn.
Since graduating, you have remained close to the Chemical Engineering Department in many ways. As President and Chief Operating Officer of Rohm & Haas Chemical Company, you had been an informal advisor to the Department, active in recruiting Penn graduates for your firm. Chair of the School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Board of Overseers for eight years and a member for ten, Co-Chair of the Physical Science and Engineering Committee, and a member of the Dean Review Committee, you played a major role in shaping the School’s goals and strategy. Continuing to act as a top volunteer for corporate and foundation fundraising, you help the School get grants from Rohm & Haas and other companies. Generous with your time, when you spoke to the students in the Executive Master of Engineering class, you went above and beyond the call of duty, staying for the entire period and participating in the discussions. In appreciation for all you do, the Engineering Alumni Society awarded you its highest accolade, the Robert D. Yarnall Award.
Also providing leadership for the University as a whole, you were a University Trustee for two terms, serving on the Development Committee, Facilities and Campus Planning Committee, the University Responsibility Committee, and the Campaign Steering Committee, to which you brought your special strengths. In addition to all of this, you give direct support to our students through the Agnes and Jack Mulroney Endowed Scholarship at Penn.
Penn is an important part of your home life, too, with your wife, Agnes, an active alumna, and three of your children—Carolyn, Kelly, and Andrew—also Penn graduates. In tribute to your great work for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, we wish we could sing you an aria. Instead, we say bravo for your boundless enthusiasm, imagination, and great Penn spirit, and gratefully present you with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
Sandra D. Williamson
Bachelor of Arts, 1963
An educator and a humanist, you have an especially well-honed sense of women’s issues. With ethics and intelligence matched by warmth and sincerity, you draw supporters around you to effect change.
As an undergraduate you were already leading the way, serving as Treasurer and then President of the Women’s Student Government Organization, President of the Sphinx and Key Honor Society, a member of Mortarboard, Treasurer of your freshman and sophomore classes, a member of the Newman Club, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In your spare time you were a member of the Drama Guild and the Campus Chest and served as a dormitory counselor.
Continuing to provide leadership for Penn as an alumna, you joined the Board of Trustees in 1990 and served as an Alumni Trustee for five years. A founding member and immediate past Chair of the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women, you serve on its Executive Committee, helping to shape its membership. You were also Co-Chair of the Advancement of Women Faculty Committee, where you encouraged faculty and deans to hire and promote qualified women. Last year, closely involved with preparations for the Celebration of 125 Years of Women at Penn, you served on the Executive, Attendance, and Steering Committees. Penn has also benefited from your participation on the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Society Board and in the Penn Club of Western Pennsylvania, where you are on the Secondary School Committee. In all of your roles, you offer strong leadership. You also put your excellent communication skills to work for Penn as a telethon caller for The Penn Fund and volunteer for the Alumni Council on Admissions.
You are now an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. In the course of a very busy professional life, first in banking and then in academia, where you earned recognition as Teacher of the Year, and with many other commitments, including serving as Vice Chair of the International Business Forum and being involved in the political campaigns of various women candidates, you always find time and energy for your Penn family, which includes your own brother and sister.
In appreciation of your ability to raise the right questions and provide many of the right answers, and for representing Penn so well on the campus, in your classroom, and throughout your world travels, we are delighted to present you with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit.
Class Awards
Class of 1942 Out of the way, you’re coming through, Pennsylvania ’42! The combination of a Women’s Brunch at Kelly Writer’s House, a dinner program enlivened by songs from the Hit Parade of 1942, and a class costume featuring skimmers embellished with gigantic “4”s and “2”s, added up to a colorful and fun-filled reunion. In acknowledgment of your outstanding 60th Reunion and active reunion planning committee, we gratefully present the Class of 1942 with the 2002 Class Award of Merit.
Class of 1962 Noble Quakers, yes, you bet, ’62 is the best class yet! A symposium about the pros and cons of retirement and second careers for senior alumni; a dinner dance featuring hits from the 1960s; and a fun filled Mini-Olympics with a class costume warm-up suit to match, added up to a memorable reunion. In acknowledgement of your outstanding assortment of reunion events, some innovative and unique to Alumni Weekend, we gratefully present the Class of 1962 with the 2002 Class Award of Merit.
David N. Tyre Award to the Class of 1982 Making effective use of 21st Century technology, the Class designed an imaginative, entertaining, and interactive web-site that led to new records for attendance and gift participation, an outstanding 20th Reunion celebration, and increased online communications moving forward. In acknowledgement of the record-breaking success of your electronic and web-based outreach to classmates near and far, we gratefully present the Class of 1982 with the David N. Tyre Award for Excellence in Class Communications.
Regional Program Award of Merit to the Penn Alumni Club of Boston Following a strategic plan that included revamping its web site, the Club dramatically increased events and membership totals, expanded its board significantly, and produced and distributed its own business cards, featuring a picture of the University. In acknowledgement of your ambitious goals and energetic and imaginative spirit, for the second successive year, we gratefully present the Penn Alumni Club of Boston with the 2002 Regional Program Award of Merit.
