Eight Penn alumni and one faculty member received awards at the 2025 Alumni Award of Merit Gala on Friday.
The Nov. 7 gala was the 19th annual event to honor alumni volunteers on homecoming weekend. The Penn Alumni Board of Directors’ Awards and Resolutions Committee bestowed the recipients with five different awards: the Alumni Award of Merit, two Young Alumni Awards, the Creative Spirit Award, the Penn Alumni Social Impact Award, and the Faculty Award of Merit.
1993 College graduate Jackie Einstein Astrof was celebrated with the Award of Merit for her work as the founder of PennPAC, a pro bono consulting service that has helped over 300 nonprofits, contributed 60,000 service hours, and has $13 million in consulting value.
1972 Wharton graduate Calvin Bland was honored with the Award of Merit for Service for expanding opportunity by founding the Calvin Bland Fellowship Program and serving on the School of Social Policy & Practice Board of Advisors.
1974 College graduate Denis Cochran-Fikes — who also earned his MBA from Wharton in 1979 — was recognized with the Award of Merit for his leadership as a mentor for student-athletes, and James H. Greene Jr., a 1972 graduate of the Wharton School, was acknowledged with the Award of Merit for his leadership in and financial support of Penn Athletics.
2014 College graduate Jodi Miller — who also earned her master’s degree from the Graduate School of Education in 2015 — was honored with the Young Alumni Award for her work as the founder of WellCheq, an online platform and tool for students and teachers, as well as her ongoing alumni leadership and involvement.
2009 College graduate Ian Seltzer was recognized with the Young Alumni Award for his service across multiple Penn councils, including the Penn Libraries Orrery Society Council, the Penn Performing Arts Regional Council of New York, and the Penn Museum Young Alumni Council.
The Creative Spirit Award was bestowed upon 1966 College of Women graduate Susan Marx for her work with the Arthur Ross Gallery and Penn Museum, where she supported the Susan T. Marx Distinguished Lecture Series. The Social Impact Award was given to 1998 College graduate Liz Theoharis, who was celebrated for her advocacy as a co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign.
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English and Africana Studies professor Herman Beavers received the Faculty Merit Award for creating community-engaging courses linking Penn students to West Philadelphia.
In addition to individual awards, the classes of 1995 and 2000 received the Class Award of Merit, and the class of 2005 accepted the David N. Tyre Award for Excellence in Class Communications. The Penn Club of Los Angeles received the Alumni Club Award of Merit, and Penn Clubs of France, Nashville, the Netherlands, and Metro New Jersey received special acknowledgements.
