Honoring Community Excellence
The University established in 2002 the President’s Medallion Award, bestowed upon those who have distinguished themselves in a particular field or in service to an important cause that has benefited society locally, regionally, nationally or internationally. The President’s Medallion also recognizes men and women in a variety of fields who are role models worthy of emulation by all, particularly by our students at Western New England University.
Past Honorees
Colonel Timothy P. Alben G'01 - Massachusetts State Police Superintendent, August 23, 2014, Alumnus of the Year and Graduate Commencement
Michael J. Ashe Jr. - Sheriff for Hampden County, May 18, 2003, Off-Campus Programs Commencement
Lisa Bachmann - Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising and Operating Officer, Big Lots, Inc., May 22, 2016, Doctoral, Law, Pharmacy, and Master's Degree Commencement
William M. Bennett - District Attorney for Hampden County, May 18, 2003, Off-Campus Programs Commencement
Diane Bosse - Chair of the New York Board of Law Examiners and Chair of the ABA Accreditation Committee of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, August 21, 2012, School of Law Convocation
Lucia Giuggio Carvalho - Director of Case Management at Jewish Geriatric Services, Longmeadow, MA, May 17, 2008, Undergraduate Commencement
Maryse Condé - Novelist, Playwright, and Critic, October 20, 2004, French Department, Humanities Department, and Diversity Task Force event
Ron Copes - Vice President for Community Relations at MassMutual Financial Group, Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA, May 20, 2006, Undergraduate Commencement
Stephen M. Daley - Founder and Executive Director of RadKIDS, May 6, 2004, Benefit for RadKIDS
John DiFava - Chief of MIT Campus Police, May 19, 2002, Graduate and Off-Campus Programs Commencement
Arthur William "Red" Downes - Head Coach of the Golden Bears men's golf program, May 19, 2018, Undergraduate Commencement
J. Robert Flores - Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, May 29, 2008, Possibilities Symposium
Dr. Paul Friedmann - Retired Executive Director at the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute, May 20, 2018, Graduate Commencement
Mamie Duncan Gibbs - Broadway Actress, April 24, 2003, "Voices from the Inside" Poetry Reading
Richard A. Grabiec - Assistant Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Industrial Engineering, May 19, 2018, Undergraduate Commencement
John Greaney - Associate Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, May 17, 2003, School of Law Commencement
Michael S. Greco - President of the American Bar Association, August 16, 2005, Law Convocation
Mary Anne Herron - Director of Special Projects for the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, May 8, 2010, Master's Degrees Celebration
Anita Hill - Civil Rights Leader, February 25, 2002, Clason Speaker Series
Roderick Jackson - Former girls' basketball coach at Ensley H.S. Birmingham, AL, Jackson vs. Birmingham Board of Education, October 5, 2006, Women in Sports Panel Discussion
Christine James-Brown - President and CEO, Child Welfare League of America, May 19, 2011, On the Road to Educational Equality Campaign
Tracy Kidder - Pulitzer prize winning author, October 22, 2003, Athenaeum Series
Harold Hongju Koh - Dean of Yale Law School, September 9, 2008, School of Law Convocation
Ron Laney - Associate Administrator in the Child Protection Division of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, June 4, 2009, Possibilities Symposium
Paul Loeb - Author, March 6, 2002, Lecture Day
Dr. Donna Lopiano - President and Founder of Sports Management Resources and former CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation, April 22, 2009, Center for International Sport Business Speaker Series
York Mayo - Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Springfield, May 7, 2011, Master's Degrees Celebration
Roland Merullo - Author, May 21, 2016, Undergraduate Commencement
Dr. Mwelwa Musambachime - Zambia's Ambassador to the U.N., April 10, 2003, April Colloquium
Chris Nowinski - CEO and Cofounder of Sports Legacy Institute, February 22, 2011, 2011 Leadership Forum
Rod Pease '77/G'82 - Director of Student Administrative Services, Western New England University, May 21, 2016, Undergraduate Commencement
Ellen Ash Peters - Chief Justice (retired) of the Connecticut Supreme Court, August 31, 2006, Law Convocation
Dick Pound - Chair of World Anti-Doping Agency, October 16, 2007, Center for Intern
Thomas Reilly - Massachusetts Attorney General, May 23, 2004, Nontraditional Undergraduate/Graduate Commencement
Maria Reyes - Freedom Writer from Erin Gruwell's English class at Woodrow Wilson High School, Long Beach, CA, September 25, 2007, Freshman Focus
Ilana Kara Diamond Rovner - First woman appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, May 20, 2018, Graduate Commencement
Travis Roy - Hockey player and author, October 5, 2004, Freshman Focus
David S. Sharken - Executive Director of The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Inc., May 20, 2006, Undergraduate Commencement
Robert B. Stein Jr. '79 - President and CEO of Kalibrate Technologies, May 20, 2017 Undergraduate Commencement
Scott T. Stevens '77 - Founder of Stageless Players Club at Western New England University, May 19, 2018, Undergraduate Commencement
Kathrine Switzer - First female runner in Boston Marathon, April 4, 2006
Henry M. Thomas III L'83 - Attorney, Activist, and Ally for Western Massachusetts, May 17, 2003, School of Law Commencement
Dean '82 & Denise '84 Vanech - Founder, Chair, and CEO of Olympus Holdings, LLC & philantropist, May 19, 2019, Graduate Commencement
Paul Weilerstein - former Executive Director of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, September 1, 2009, kickoff event for "Product Development and Innovation" course
Sally Wittenberg - Executive Director of Volunteer Programs, Springfield (MA) School Volunteers, May 20, 2006, Undergraduate Commencement
Past Group Honorees
City of Springfield Firefighters, accepted by Chief of Springfield Fire Department Gary C. Cassanelli - May 18, 2002, Undergraduate Commencement
City of Springfield Police Officers, accepted by Chief of Springfield Police Department Paula Meara - May 18, 2002, Undergraduate Commencement
Men and Women of the U.S. Armed Forces, accepted by ROTC Major Jeffery T. Adams - May 18, 2002, Undergraduate Commencement