Aerial view of campus

President's Medallion Recipients

Honoring Community Excellence

Established in 2002, the President’s Medallion Award is 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 Co-founder 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 the 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 & philanthropist, 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