On Nov. 7, eight distinguished alumni will receive Awards of Merit, the Alumni Social Impact Award, and the Creative Spirit Award, and Herman Beavers will receive the Faculty Award of Merit.
(Top row) Jackie Einstein Astrof, Calvin Bland, and Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes; (middle row) James H. Greene, Susan T. Marx, and Jodi L. Miller; (bottom row) Ian A. Seltzer, Liz Theoharis, and Herman Beavers.
Alumni sharing the spotlight will be Jackie Einstein Astrof, Calvin Bland, Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes, and James H. Greene Jr., who will all receive the Alumni Award of Merit, and Jodi L. Miller and Ian A. Seltzer, who will accept the Young Alumni Award. The Rev. Liz Theoharis will receive the Penn Alumni Social Impact Award and Susan T. Marx will accept the Creative Spirit Award. In addition to the alumni awards, Herman Beavers will be recognized this year with the Faculty Award of Merit.
A 1993 graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences, Jackie Einstein Astrof is being recognized for her spirit of service. In 2010, she founded PennPAC, enlisting Penn alumni to provide pro bono consulting to nonprofits. PennPAC has since helped over 300 nonprofits with 1,100 volunteers contributing 60,000 hours and $12 million in consulting value. Einstein Astrof has also served a Penn NYC Board member, Penn Hillel chair, and as co-chair of the student life committee of the Trustees Council of Penn Women.
Calvin Bland graduated from the Wharton School in 1972, and is being honored for his service expanding opportunity and justice. He founded the Calvin Bland Fellowship Program to help young men of color lead “productive and rewarding lives,” providing enduring impact. His leadership on the School of Social Policy & Practice Board of Advisors and in the James Brister Society reflects his deep commitment to equity, service, and mentorship. A distinguished health care executive and educator, his legacy includes endowed scholarships supporting future generations.
Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes earned his undergraduate degree from the College of Arts & Sciences in 1974 and his MBA from the Wharton School in 1979. He is being honored for his leadership and career mentoring student-athletes. As an undergraduate in 1974 he ran a 3:55 mile, the first by a Penn and Ivy League athlete. Returning to Penn in 1986 as associate athletic director, he became a Penn Athletics Hall of Famer and championed the induction of other deserving athletes, ensuring their legacies endured.
Wharton Class of 1972 member James H. “Jamie” Greene Jr. is being honored for his decades-long service as an engaged member of the Penn community and emeritus University Trustee and for his support of Penn Athletics. A former Penn football and lacrosse player, as chair of the Athletics Board of Advisors, Greene helped transform Penn Athletics’ financial model, strengthen varsity programs, and champion women’s sports.
This year’s recipient of the Creative Spirit Award, sculptor Susan T. Marx, is a 1966 graduate of the College of Women. Marx is being recognized for her leadership and service to the Arthur Ross Gallery and the Penn Museum. She endowed the Susan T. Marx Distinguished Lecture Series at the Arthur Ross Gallery to spotlight renowned artists and cultural leaders. Her connection to the Penn Museum continues through her service on the Director’s Council and to the Arthur Ross Gallery through her service on their board.
Jodi L. Miller graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences in 2014 and earned her master’s from the Graduate School of Education in 2015. Formerly a Philadelphia public school biology teacher, she later earned her Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University and founded WellCheq, an online platform helping over 15,000 students. Miller is being honored for her leadership having served as class co-president, as a Penn Alumni Board member, and a Penn Jewish Alumni Network planner.
A member of the College Class of 2009, Ian Seltzer is a lifelong Quaker, who was inspired by early visits to the Penn Museum prior to attending Penn. He is being honored for leadership that spans service as a member of the Penn Libraries Orrery Society Council, the Penn Performing Arts Regional Council of New York, and the Penn Museum Young Alumni Council, where he serves as chair.
The Rev. Liz Theoharis graduated from the College in 1998, majoring in urban studies and anthropology, a foundation of her life’s work. She is being honored with the 2025 Social Impact Award in recognition of her lifelong advocacy for the poor and disenfranchised as a nationally recognized minister, theologian, and co-chair of The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
This year’s Faculty Award of Merit goes to Herman Beavers, the Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt President’s Distinguished Professor of English and Africana Studies, honoring his scholarship and poetry, and for inspiring lifelong learning through his teaching and alumni programs. A champion of community engagement, Beavers created courses linking Penn students with West Philadelphia residents through storytelling, for which he earlier earned the Netter Center for Community Partnership’s first Community Engagement Award.
In addition to the individual awards, the classes of 1995 and 2000 will receive the Class Award of Merit, and the Class of 2005 will receive the David N. Tyre Award for Excellence in Class Communications. The Alumni Club Award of Merit will go to the Penn Club of Los Angeles, with special acknowledgements to the Penn Club of France, Penn Club of Nashville, Penn Club of the Netherlands, and Penn Club of Metro New Jersey.
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