Penn President Amy Gutmann presented the University of Pennsylvania Medal for Distinguished Achievement to prominent Philadelphia philanthropist Raymond G. Perelman on Oct. 26, at an event celebrating the naming of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine.

“There is no higher honor the University bestows, and no one more deserving than Ray Perelman,” Gutmann said.

In May, Perelman and his late wife, Ruth, donated $225 million to Penn—the largest single gift in the University’s history—to benefit the School of Medicine. The donation represents the largest single gift to name a school of medicine in the United States.

At the Medal ceremony, Gutmann and Perelman were joined on the podium by James S. Riepe, chair of the Penn Medicine Board of Trustees; Arthur H. Rubenstein, professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine; and J. Larry Jameson, executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and dean of the Perelman School.

The Medal for Distinguished Achievement is awarded periodically “to those individuals whose performance is in keeping with the highest goals of the University and who have contributed to the world through innovative acts of scholarship, scientific discovery, artistic creativity or societal leadership.” Since its inception in 1993, 21 individuals have received the Medal, including four Nobel laureates, former United States Senator Arlen Specter and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.