Alumni Association

Alumni Association recognized for Penn State Historical Marker program

The award was presented during the John H. Ziegler Historic Preservation Awards ceremony recently held at the Pennsylvania Match Factory building in Bellefonte

Tom Hammond, Penn State Alumni Association executive director of engagement, right, accepts the Centre County Historical Society’s President’s Award from Roger Williams, former Alumni Association executive director and current Centre County Historical Society president. The association received the award for the Penn State Historical Marker program. Credit: David Abruzzese—Penn State Alumni Association / Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Alumni Association (PSAA) recently received the Centre County Historical Society’s President’s Award for the Penn State Historical Marker program, which highlights the University's illustrious history. The award was presented during the John H. Ziegler Historic Preservation Awards ceremony held Jan. 19 at the Pennsylvania Match Factory building in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

"For its role in the creation of the Penn State historic markers program and especially for the newest marker, the Penn State Alumni Association is this year’s recipient of the President’s Award,” said Mary Sorensen, executive director of the Centre County Historical Society. “The Centre County Historical Society thanks the Penn State Alumni Association for calling attention to Penn State’s roots in agriculture and to Centre County’s roots in the iron industry that attracted so many of the early settlers." 

The PSAA collaborates with the Office of Strategic Communications, the University Archives and the Office of Physical Plant on the markers program.

Tom Hammond, executive director of engagement for the Alumni Association, accepted the award on behalf of the association.  

“The Penn State Alumni Association is honored to be recognized for the inception and ongoing support of the campus historical marker program,” Hammond said. “The markers, a collaborative University effort, help to act as a constant reminder and convey a story about the many ways Penn State has made a difference in our world. The Alumni Association is honored to play a role in sharing some of the many ways Penn State has evolved from its origins to become a leading institution for research and learning.” 

The markers, cast in iron and painted in the Penn State colors of blue and white, aim to raise awareness and commemorate notable academic and research accomplishments that are significant in a national or international sense and of interest to the University community, as well as highlight important aspects of Penn State's programs, development and traditions as an institution of higher education. Each marker offers a glimpse into Penn State’s rich history, from notable achievements like Penn State professor Erwin Müller’s invention of the Atom-Probe Field Ion Microscope, to significant events like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1965 speech in Rec Hall. 

Roger Williams, former Alumni Association executive director and current president of the Centre County Historical Society, was instrumental in the program during his tenure as executive director and assistant vice president for University Relations [now Strategic Communications] at Penn State. His vision for the markers, he said, was to reinforce the University as a prestigious and creative force, draw attention to how the University has played a role in history, and tell the story of Penn State’s academic prowess.  

Since the program’s inception in 1990, 68 markers now stand at the University Park campus, while 18 highlight locations at Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses. The markers on the University Park campus and their locations can be found on the Penn State Map page, under "Points of Pride."

In 2024, the Alumni Association, Strategic Communications and the Centre County Historical Society unveiled a new historical marker at the Centre Furnace Mansion in State College, highlighting the “Birthplace of Penn State.”  

The Historic Preservation Awards highlight individuals or groups who have furthered the Historical Society’s efforts to preserve, interpret and promote the richness of Centre County history, and uphold Penn State Professor Emeritus John H. Ziegler’s legacy of conservation. 

Ziegler, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 92, enjoyed a 33 year-long career at Penn State as a founding member of the Department of Food Science. He also served on numerous boards, including the Centre County Historical Society, ClearWater Conservancy, the Centre County Chapter of the Alumni Association and more.   

About the Penn State Alumni Association  

For more than 150 years, the Penn State Alumni Association has provided alumni with a strong and welcoming community representative of the Penn Staters it proudly serves. The association keeps alumni connected to the University and to each other, while upholding Penn State traditions and supporting the University’s mission of teaching, research and service. The association also produces the award-winning Penn Stater magazine and other publications, and offers alumni and friends volunteer opportunities, educational programming and many other services. For more information about the PSAA, visit alumni.psu.edu

Last Updated February 4, 2025

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