Syracuse University alumni association names 6 Alumni Award recipients
Syracuse University alumni association named the six recipients of this year’s five Alumni Awards Tuesday night. The recipients were selected based on “their embodiment of the Orange spirit” through their achievements, leadership and service. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
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Syracuse University’s alumni association named Chancellor Kent Syverud and his wife Ruth Chen, among four other alums, as recipients of this year’s Alumni Awards in a Tuesday release.
The awardees, chosen by the alumni association’s board of directors, will be honored at Hendricks Chapel on April 23. The board selects alumni based on “their embodiment of the Orange spirit” through their achievements, leadership and service, according to the release.
Syverud and Chen will receive the George Arents Award, the highest award a Syracuse alum can receive. After serving SU for 12 years, Syverud announced in August he will be leaving the university to become President of the University of Michigan. Chen is a professor in SU’s College of Engineering and Computer Sciences, focusing on environmental toxicology.
The Generation Orange Award will be given to Ronald J. Taylor, a 2015 graduate and executive director of the New York Collegiate Institute. The award recognizes the achievements of alumni from the past decade, according to the release.
Diana Wege will receive the Melvin A. Eggers Senior Alumni Award for her “loyalty and service” to SU. Wege, an artist and activist, founded WOVEN, a nonprofit that works “to end violence in our lifetime,” according to its website.
Co-chair of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families Advisory Board Daniel A. D’Aniello will be honored with the Military/Veteran Alumni Award. D’Aniello, an SU life trustee and U.S. Navy veteran is one of SU’s “most transformative benefactors,” the release said.
The National Veterans Resource Center was dedicated to D’Aniello and his wife Gayle in 2021 for their donation towards the complex’s construction.
The final award, Volunteer of the Year, will be awarded to Akima Rogers. Rogers, a member of SU’s Multicultural Advancement Advisory Council, co-founded the annual D.C. Orange & Blue BBQ. He is also the director of academic initiatives at Montgomery College.
Registration for the Alumni Awards is currently open.
