UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two longtime Penn State champions and benefactors will be recognized by the Penn State Alumni Association and receive the Honorary Alumni Award.
The Penn State Alumni Association has given the Honorary Alumni Award since 1973 to recognize individuals who, while not graduates of Penn State, have significantly worked toward bettering the University.
The recipients will be recognized during an award ceremony on Saturday, June 3, on the University Park campus. The ceremony also will feature the presentation of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni and Philanthropist of the Year awards.
Since the award was established, more than 100 individuals have been given honorary alumni status.
This year’s honorees are:
Vivienne Bellisario, for a sustained tradition of deep and visionary support that has created innovative programs, life-changing student opportunities, key faculty leadership, and a cutting-edge media center that have helped cement Penn State as a national leader in communications studies. The largess of Vivienne Bellisario and her husband, Don, has transformed the eponymous Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and, in the process, Penn State. The Bellisarios’ $30 million commitment in April 2017 — one of the five largest gifts ever received by the University — has allowed the Bellisario College of Communications to build on its reputation as one of the best programs of its kind in the nation. In recognition of their vision and commitment, Penn State created the Bellisario Media Center, which houses the college’s state-of-the-art television studios, its growing digital media agencies, student media operations, and space for film and video creation. In 2006, the Bellisarios endowed the Donald P. Bellisario Trustee Scholarship with a $1 million commitment. They have continued to support the fund over the years, with more than 350 past and current recipients.
Wayne J. Sebastianelli, for major contributions to orthopaedic and sports medicine, outstanding service to Penn State Health and Athletics, and significantly advancing research for the treatment of traumatic brain injuries. Sebastianelli is director of athletic medicine at Penn State; Kalenak Professor in Orthopaedics at Penn State College of Medicine; medical director at Penn State Sports Medicine; associate chief medical officer for Penn State Health, Centre County region; and associate dean for clinical affairs at the University Park Regional Campus. He has served as principal and co-investigator for several NIH grants, co-authored several books, published more than 85 articles in multiple peer-reviewed journals, and is a member of multiple societies, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and American Orthopaedic Association, where he is currently serving as president. In 2019, he was elected to a 10-year term on the board of directors for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.