Four Volunteers Win Alumni Association Awards

5-31-96
University Park, Pa. -- Four Penn Staters were named 1996 Alumni Association Award Winners at the Alumni Volunteer Recognition Program held April 19. The winners are:

· Recent Alumnus/Alumna of the Year -- Kirsten L. Vensel (Class of 1990).
· Volunteer of the Year -- Ramon L. Benedetto (Class of 1972).
· Outstanding Council Members -- Donald L. Campbell (Class of 1964) and Terrie H. Rizzo (Class of 1968).

Vensel is a graduate of the journalism major in the College of Communications and a resident of Los Angeles. She recently served as president of the Greater Los Angeles Alumni Association chapter for two years, during which time she orchestrated all chapter events related to Penn State's participation in the 1995 Rose Bowl.

She is the current chair of the chapter's Student Involvement Committee and was integral to the Association's first regional leadership conference for the San Francisco Bay area and a recent College of Communications reception in Los Angeles. A freelance development associate and script coordinator, she is a member of the Writers Guild of America and Women in Film and has a story credit for an episode of the TV series "The Nanny."

Benedetto is a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force and director of the Department of Defense Health Service Region 5, headquartered at the Wright-Patterson base in Dayton, Ohio. He is a graduate of the health policy and administration major in the College of Health and Human Development and has served on the board of directors for the Greater Dayton Chapter of the Alumni Association since 1992.

He recently received the first alumni achievement award given by the University's Department of Health Policy & Administration for maintaining frequent contact with the department and Penn State students through visits, lectures, and networking. He has also been an active member of the Alumni Admissions volunteer group since 1984, working on behalf of the group while stationed in Texas and Germany and, now, with 14 participating schools in the Dayton area.

Campbell is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Century Technologies Inc. (CENTECH) in Silver Spring, Md., and a resident of Potomac, Md. As a Penn State Alumni Council member and chairperson of the African-American Alumni Interest Group for the past five years, he has made significant contributions to the promotion of diversity within the Association.

He earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics, served with the U.S. Army in Germany and South Vietnam, and later worked with the Departments of Defense and Transportation and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives. In addition to his Penn State degree, he earned a master's degree from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Rizzo is a coordinator with the Stanford University Health Improvement Program in Palo Alto, Calif., and a resident of Saratoga, Calif. A member of the executive board of the Alumni Association's Silicon Valley chapter, she also serves as chairperson of the Alumni Council's National Service Week Task Force, which promotes participation by Penn State alumni and friends in community service activities across the country.

She earned her bachelor's degree in history from the College of the Liberal Arts and later earned a master's from Johns Hopkins University. She was instrumental in founding the Silicone Valley chapter, which she served as president for two terms, as well as the Baltimore and Western Europe chapters.

**gwc**

Contacts:
Gary W. Cramer (814) 865-7517 (office) 814) 231-0590 (home) gwc104@psu.edu
Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517 (office) (814) 237-9046 (home) cmr7@psu.edu