The University of Pennsylvania will honor seven alumni at the 81st annual Alumni Award of Merit Gala hosted by David L. Cohen, chairman of Penn’s Board of Trustees; Penn President Amy Gutmann; and Penn Alumni President Julie Platt on Friday, Nov. 6.

Harold “Hal” Prince, alumnus and Broadway producer, who graduated in 1948 and received an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree from Penn in 1971, was recognized as the 2015 Creative Spirit Award winner. Prince, who accepted the award in April, will be recognized at the Gala with a video tribute.

Sharing the 2015 alumni honors will be Thomas J. Cusack, Kenneth S. Glass, John R. Rockwell and Katherine S. Sachs who will receive the Alumni Award of Merit. Seth M. Ginns and Stephanie S. Yee will be presented with Young Alumni Awards.

Thomas J. Cusack, a 1977 graduate of the College and the Wharton School, is a private investor and advisor and previously served as chairman, president and CEO of Transamerica Life Companies. A longstanding member of the Penn Libraries Board of Overseers and a member of the Making History Campaign steering committee in 2007-2012, Cusack’s leadership has been pivotal in championing digitization projects and the transformative renovation of its special collection research center. His foundational gifts and efforts advanced the project and were vital in positioning the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts as a leader in preserving and interacting with treasures from the past. 

Ken Glass was a member of the University’s first graduating Management and Technology program class in 1982. Now an angel investor and founder of Glass5 LLC, he formerly held positions with AT&T Bell Labs, Brightwork Development and Microsoft. He has been a tireless advocate of Penn and the M&T program, serving on M&T’s Executive Board and as a leader of M&T’s 35th anniversary in 2014. He has been a popular guest lecturer, helping to guide the entrepreneurial landscape at Penn through the Glass Family Management & Technology Fund and the Glass Family Scholarship. The Glass family has deep Penn ties. He and his wife Sandra have three kids, two of which are Penn grads

John R. Rockwell earned his undergraduate degree from Wharton in 1964. After going on to earn his MBA from the School in 1966, he embarked on a distinguished career with the T. Rowe Price Group Inc., from which he retired as senior vice president and managing director in 2007. His philanthropy at Penn aligns with his interest in Penn Athletics and the Penn Museum and is rooted in childhood visits to campus with his grandfather. He endowed the men’s head basketball coach position and the John R. Rockwell Gymnasium at the Hutchinson Gym and supported key Penn Museum exhibitions. His commitment and leadership extends to the Class of 1964 for which he chaired the successful 50th Reunion and now serves as class president. 

Katherine Stein Sachs graduated from the College in 1969 with a major in art history, an interest that has guided her advocacy and philanthropy at Penn. She has served on the Institute of Contemporary Art’s board, chaired the ICA Endowment Campaign and was the ICA chair of the Making History campaign. With an anchor gift to the campaign, she established the Sachs Guest Curator Program at the ICA. Sachs joined the board of trustees in 2004 and served for nine years, until becoming an emeritus trustee in 2013. In this role, she is active on the Facilities & Campus Planning Committee and as a member of the Trustee’s Council of Penn Women. Her husband, Keith, and her three children also share Penn as their alma mater.

Seth M. Ginns graduated from the College in 2000. While at Penn, he became interested in South Asia regional studies, an interest which has continued to steer his philanthropy at Penn and influence his career. He regularly travels to India as part of his job as managing director of Jennison Associates in New York City, and in 2006, he funded the Gambhir and Gangulee Endowed Travel Scholarship supporting study abroad in South Asia through the Center for the Advanced Study of India. He has also been an ardent supporter of the School of Nursing as a member of its board of overseers since 2012 and of the Kelly Writers House with the establishment of the Ginns Fund for International Writers. 

Stephanie S. Yee is co-president of the Class of 2008 and president of the Penn Club of Philadelphia. She majored in biological basis of behavior and currently works as a laboratory manager in the Circulating Tumor Material Center at Penn’s Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute. She served as the co-chair of her class’ 5th Reunion Outreach Committee, helping lead the class to win the 2013 David N. Tyre Award for Excellence in Class Communication. Her leadership and support also extends to the Alumni Class Leadership Council, for which she became a vice president in 2013 and has helped to strengthen communication efforts.

In addition to the individual alumni awards, this year’s Class Award of Merit will go to the Class of 1955, the David N. Tyre Award for Excellence in Class Communications will go to the Class of 1990 and the Penn Alumni Club of Boston will receive the Alumni Club Award of Merit.