The University of Pennsylvania honored these distinguished alumni for their outstanding service to the University at the 81st Annual Alumni Award of Merit Gala in November 2015.

Alumni Awards of Merit

Thomas J. Cusack, C’77, W’77, earned degrees in economics and finance at Penn, where he played varsity rugby and was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He began his career at Bankers Trust Company as a financial analyst, then earned an MBA in 1981. He spent six years at McKinsey & Company and then moved to General Electric in 1987, where he worked in business development. He joined Transamerica Corporation in 1989 and was named chairman, president and CEO of Transamerica Life Companies in 1995. In 1999, he retired to work as a private investor and advisor.

Starting in 2000, Mr. Cusack served on the Penn Libraries Board of Overseers. During his tenure as Board chair (2005-2013), Penn Libraries undertook a transformative renovation of its special collection research center—now the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Mr. Cusack served as a member of the Making History campaign steering committee from 2007-2012. Penn Libraries, in particular, benefited from his leadership during the Campaign, exceeding its ambitious $47 million goal to raise $62.5 million. He also served on the Homecoming Weekend host committee.

Kenneth S. Glass, EE’82, W’82, PAR’10, PAR’12, was a member of the first full graduating class of the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology (M&T), earning dual degrees in systems science & engineering and economics with a concentration in entrepreneurial management. He launched his career at AT&T Bell Labs, then served as vice president of marketing & business development at Brightwork Development before joining Microsoft in 1991. In 2000, he founded Glass5, LLC, a venture capital and private equity firm.

Mr. Glass is an alumni interviewer and an active participant in M&T Day. For the past 20 years, he has also been a guest lecturer in M&T’s Management of Technology course. He created the Glass Family Management & Technology Fund and the Glass Family Scholarship.

He has spearheaded alumni engagement initiatives up and down the West Coast. Most recently, he has served on the M&T Program’s Executive Board. He led M&T’s 35th anniversary in 2014, for which more than 200 M&T alumni returned to campus. He also established a challenge program; a total of 415 alumni made contributions, including 215 first-time donors. The $13.5 million raised was the largest single-year total in the history of the M&T Program.

John R. “Rick” Rockwell, W’64, WG’66, graduated from Wharton with both an undergraduate degree and an MBA, then embarked on a career with the T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. He retired as senior vice president and managing director in 2007. Known for his striped red and blue blazer, Mr. Rockwell chaired the Class of 1964’s 50th Reunion and now serves as Class President. He is also a former member of the Penn Alumni Council and the Parents Executive Board.

Mr. Rockwell served as a longtime member of the Athletics Board of Overseers and has co-chaired the Basketball Board since 2007, when he also joined the Football Board. He endowed the Men’s Head Basketball Coach position and established the John R. Rockwell Gymnasium at Hutchinson Gym.

Mr. Rockwell joined the Penn Museum’s Board of Overseers in 2008, serving on the Finance and Marketing and Acquisitions committees. He underwrote Native American Voices: The People—Here and Now and funded two conservation projects: the restoration of the stone reliefs of horses in the museum’s Harrison Rotunda and the creation of a conservation area in the museum’s Artifact Lab. He also funded the Egyptian excavation that unearthed the tomb of Senebkay of the lost Abydos dynasty.

Katherine Stein Sachs, CW’69, PAR’95, PAR’98, PAR’06, PAR’10, studied art history at Penn. She was a member of the University’s Board of Trustees for nine years, beginning in 2004, and served on the Development, Academic Policy and Student Life committees. Since becoming an emeritus Trustee in 2013, she has been active on the Facilities & Campus Planning Committee. She is a long-term member of the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women (TCPW) and has also served on the Penn Alumni Board of Directors, the Penn Alumni Council, the Steering Committee of the Making History campaign, and the Class of 1969 Reunion Committee.

Ms. Sachs and her husband, Keith, W’67, created a programming fund to raise the profile of contemporary art on campus. They endowed the Sachs Professorship in Contemporary Art in the School of Arts & Sciences and the Keith L. and Katherine S. Sachs Endowed Visiting Professorship in the Fine Arts in the School of Design.

Ms. Sachs joined the board of the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in 1996 and became chair shortly afterward. She chaired the ICA Endowment Campaign and served as ICA chair for the Making History campaign. She also established the Sachs Guest Curator Program, one of the anchor gifts of the ICA campaign.

Ms. Sachs was instrumental in founding the Arts Leadership Day, which was later transformed into Homecoming Weekend Featuring Arts and Culture at Penn. For many years, she and her husband opened their collection of contemporary and modern art to Penn students.

Young Alumni Awards

Seth M. Ginns, C’00, majored in math and South Asia regional studies at Penn. He is managing director of the investment management firm Jennison Associates. He has served on the Board of Overseers of Penn’s School of Nursing since 2012 and was the establishing donor for the Penn Nursing-India Healthcare Initiative. In 2006, he funded the Gambhir and Gangulee Endowed Travel Scholarship, which allows Penn students to participate in the University’s Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) study-abroad programs in South Asia. He has also served on CASI’s International Advisory Board since 2011.

In honor of his parents, he created the Dr. Edward and Nanette Ginns Endowed Scholarship, which rotates among Penn’s four undergraduate schools. He also established the Ginns Fund for International Writers, which supports the Writers Without Borders series at the Kelly Writers House. In 2008, he created the Ginns Literacy Program Fund, a University-wide tutoring program serving West Philadelphia at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships.

Mr. Ginns has also worked on the Major Gifts Committee for the Making History campaign, the Class of 2000 Gift Committee and his class’s 15th Reunion Gift Committee.

Stephanie S. Yee, C’08, graduated with a BA in Biological Basis of Behavior (BBB). She has held positions as laboratory manager, research specialist and webmaster in Penn Medicine’s departments of radiation oncology and ophthalmology, and is now laboratory manager of the Circulating Tumor Material (CTM) Center at Penn’s Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute. She recently earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from St. Joseph’s University.

Ms. Yee writes blog posts for Frankly Penn. As co-chair of the Reunion Outreach Committee for her class’s 5th Reunion, she helped her Class win the David N. Tyre Award for Excellence in Class Communications. She is president of the Penn Club of Philadelphia and the corresponding secretary for the Association of Alumnae Board. She has also been a member of the Homecoming and Time to Shine Host committees and has served on the Penn Alumni Board of Directors and the executive board of the Association of Alumnae.

Ms. Yee is co-president of the Class of 2008 and a member of its Gift Committee. She is an alumni interviewer and volunteers as a consultant for nonprofits through PennPAC. In 2013, she became a vice president of the Alumni Class Leadership Council (ACLC) and a member of its executive committee.

Class & Club Recognition Awards

The Class of 1955 received the Class Award of Merit for its 60th Reunion efforts. With 139 guests in attendance, they had the highest-ever turnout for a 60th reunion. Over 200 members of the Class made donations during the reunion year, including eight who underwrote scholarships. The Class raised $1 million for the Penn Fund—the first 60th reunion class in the history of the University to do so. The Class broke its original goal of $425,000 and reached a final tally of $1,263,000, almost four times the previous record, set in 2007.

The Class of 1990 received the David N. Tyre Award for Excellence in Communications for its unique and effective tools and techniques, including a class fundraising URL, “private label” merchandise and a partnership with Uber. The Class made particularly effective use of Facebook with a group of over 900 members, more than any other alumni class. The Class set new attendance records, with close to 800 reunion attendees and 730 donors to the Penn Fund, including more than 100 who gave at the Benjamin Franklin Society level. The Class also received the Class of 1917 Award, given to the class with the most successful reunion fundraising year.

The Penn Club of Boston received the 2015 Club Award of Merit, having increased its club’s membership by 35% in the past two years. The club has established strategic Penn partnerships and hosted creative and engaging member events. Its online presence helped achieve a 10% increase in overall event attendance last year.