John Black To Receive The 1997 Lion's Paw Medal

5-23-97
University Park, Pa. -- John W. Black, associate executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association and editor of the Football Letter, will receive the 1997 Lion's Paw Medal Award at Penn State's Distinguished Alumni Awards luncheon on May 31.

The medal, which honors persons who have contributed notable service to the University, will be presented by William J. Cluck, president of the Lion's Paw Alumni Interest Group.

A former assistant sports editor and editor-in-chief of the Daily Collegian, Black took over the Football Letter in 1976 with the closing, "For the Glory," the opening of the Alma Mater, and it has become a staple of football fans across the country every since. He graduated from Penn State in 1962 with a distinguished academic and service record as a would-be athlete turned journalist.

After eight years with the United States Information Agency in Washington, D.C. and at the United Nations, Black returned to Penn State as editor of the Penn Stater and to direct alumni communications with all alumni programs. He has become one of the most frequently requested speakers at alumni chapter functions.

Over the years, Black has worked extensively with student leadership in such organizations as Acacia, Lion's Paw, ODK, Parmi Nous, Lion Ambassadors and LaVie and last year the Lion Ambassadors established the John W. Black Lion Ambassador Alumni Excellence Award in his honor.

The Lion's Paw senior honor society was established in 1908 to unite undergraduate leaders for service to the University. Shortly after the first group graduated in 1909, the Lion's Paw Alumni Association was organized to promote the welfare and best interests and to maintain and perpetuate the traditions of Penn State.

The association has more than 700 members, 40 of whom have been honored by the University as Distinguished Alumni. Among its projects was the purchase of more than 500 acres of Mt. Nittany in 1945, which became the Mt. Nittany Conservancy in 1981. More recently, it funded the lion paws in front of the Palmer Museum of Art.

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Contact: Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517 office (814) 237-9046 home cmr7@psu.edu