The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a Penn State graduate by the Board of Trustees.
The award is typically handed out to less than 10 people each year, and the board announced the eight recipients at its meeting in Hershey on Friday.
Among the notable recipients in previous years for the award — which began in 1951 — are Terry Pegula, Todd Blackledge, Lewis Katz, David Joyner, Franco Harris, William Schreyer, and Frank Smeal.
Here’s a look at the eight recipients for this year and their backgrounds. You can see the full list of the award’s recipients here.
H. Jesse Arnelle
The former Penn State basketball player was an All-American and led the Nittany Lions to a Final Four in 1954. He played for two years in the NBA before heading to the Air Force and the Peace Corps, later returning to Penn State for law school in 1962.
Arnelle was the first black student body president at Penn State in 1955 and was elected as a trustee in 1969. He is a retired senior partner of a San Francisco law firm.
Kathleen Mullan Harris
Dr. Harris graduated from Penn State in 1972 and went on to become the James Haar Distinguised Professor at University of North Carolina in sociology.
Her work has focused on social inequality and health, focusing her research heavily on family formation. She was previously the president of the Population Association of America.
John A. Leone
Leone is earning yet another major honor from the university after being named Philanthropist of the Year in 2015. Leone and his wife have made significant donations to the university.
He graduated in 1956 and is the president and CEO of Bonney Forge, an international manufacturer of steel products based out of Bethlehem.
“John has had an illustrious career in the energy industry,” Penn State President Eric Barron said in July. “His investment in so many areas at Penn State will ensure that our students and faculty can follow his extraordinary example of success.”
Joel N. Myers
Myers hasn’t left State College since he graduated with bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in meteorology at the university between 1961 and 1971.
Myers founded AccuWeather in 1962, and the weather consulting practice expanded to television and radio in 1971. He is currently an emeritus trustee after serving on the board from 1982 to 2014, before losing a re-election bid.
George Santiago Jr.
Dr. Santiago earned masters and doctoral degrees in educational administration from Penn State in 1986 and 1994.
He is the president of Briarcliffe College, a higher education career school with two campuses in New York.
Richard B. Silverman
This Penn State chemistry student is now the John Evens Professor of Chemistry and a professor of biosciences at Northwestern. After spending his undergraduate years at Penn State, Silverman went on to receive his Ph.D. at Harvard University.
According to his research statement, Silverman’s studies are ‘investigations of the of the molecular mechanisms of action, rational design, and syntheses of potential medicinal agents, particularly for neurodegenerative diseases.
Lara Spencer
If this name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Spencer is a co-host on ABC’s Good Morning America.
She graduated from Penn State after studying broadcast journalism in 1991. Spencer is also a correspondent for Nightline and ABC News, and previously hosted The Insider from 2004 to 2011.
Spencer was the Penn State Homecoming 2014 grand marshal.
Thomas A. Ulmer
Ulmer is one of Penn State’s most successful graduates to enter the armed forces. He previously served as the commanding officer of U.S.S. Fort McHenry and is a naval strategist and surface warfare officer for the Navy at the Pentagon.
Ulmer studied administration of justice at Penn State and graduated in 1996.
Editor’s note: Joel Myers is the father of Dan Myers, the owner of StateCollege.com.
