Drew

Alumni Achievement Awards

The Alumni/ae Achievement Awards honor those individuals who have sustained success in their chosen careers, have shown outstanding character and loyalty to Drew, have demonstrated the efficacy of a liberal arts education, have excelled in the field of natural or quantitative sciences, have made significant contributions to furthering the University's mission and goals, personify the ideals of the Educational Opportunity Scholars Program, and have made significant contributions to their community, state or nation as a volunteer.

Join Fellow alumni/ae and friends on Saturday, September 26, at 10 a.m., as we recognize this year's Alumni/ae Achievement Awards recipients.

10:00 a.m. Awards Ceremony 

  • Achievement in Business Award  
    • ed moedEdward Moed C'89 
    • Co-founder and Managing Partner, Peppercom 
      • Ed is the co-founder and managing partner of Peppercom, a full service public relations firm; his responsibilities include overall agency oversight and leadership, strategic planning and account direction, product development and new business. Peppercom, with clients around the globe, over 100 employees in three offices, and a joint venture in China, has been named PRWeek’s “Agency of the Year,” number 234 on the list of “Inc’s Fastest Growing Companies” and is ranked the country’s 14th largest independent public relations firm by O’Dwyers. Ed himself was listed in B2B Magazine’s “Who’s Who” in 2006, has been a finalist in Ernst & Young’s prestigious “Entrepreneur of the Year” award, and has been featured and provided expert commentary in the news media, including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, And Bloomberg Brand Week.
  • Achievement in the Liberal Arts Award  
    • kevinKevin Murphy C'89 
    • Emmy Award-Winning Writer/Producer
      • Kevin has spent 19 years as a writer/producer of television series and TV movies. He was co-executive producer and head writer for the first three seasons of the smash hit “Desperate Housewives,” which won two Golden Gloves, an Emmy nomination, a People’s Choice Award, and a Satellite award, all for Best Comedy; Kevin’s individual contributions were singled out with a Prism Award and two consecutive Writers Guild Award nominations for television comedy script of the year. He co-created the syndicated TV version of Disney’s “Hone, I Shrunk the Kids” and the CW’s “Valentine,” and his credits also include the CW’s “reaper,” NBC’s “Ed,” “Get Real,” “Jack & Jill,” “Weird Science,” “So Weird,” “Dennis the Menace,” and a revival of the “Munsters” TV Franchise for Fox.
  • Achievement in the Sciences Award  
    • johnJonathan Crowther C'79 
    • Senior Research Fellow, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson Company
      • Jonathan earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Rutgers University in 1984, and went on to post-doctoral work at Cornell. In 1958 he joined Allied Signal, Inc.’s Water Treatment Polymers group in Syracuse, New York as head of analytical chemistry. He moved on to Johnson # Johnson’s Immunobiology Research Institute in Annandale, New Jersey in 1988, where he spent ten years as director of analytical services. In 2003 Jonathan joined Ortho Clinical diagnostics, another J&J company in Raritan, New Jersey. He is now a senior research fellow heading the Analytical Services and Product Support group, a highly skilled group supporting the company’s global business.
  • Frances B. Sellers Award  
    • De Lacy Davis C'84 
    • delacySergeant, East Orange Police Department (retired), and Founder, Black Cops Against Police Brutality
      • De Lacy Davis is a 20-year veteran officer who retired in June 2006 from service in the East Orange Police Department. He has served as the President and Vice President of the Police Benevolent Association, Local #16, and the executive director of the East Orange Police Athletic League since 1999. In 1994, he was awarded the prestigious Renault Robinson Award by the National Black Police Association, an organization that boasts over 40,000 members nationwide. Disturbed by the high incidence of police brutality in this country, Mr. Davis spoke out against police officers that use brutality as a means of enforcing the law. In 1991 he founded the community-based organization Black Cops Against Police Brutality, and is the author of best-selling Black Cops Against Brutality: A Crisis Action Plan. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and traveled extensively on humanitarian visits. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School in Newark, New Jersey.
  • Alumni/ae Service Award 
    • Linda Connors C'64 
    • lindaSenior Librarian, Head of Acquisitions and Collections, Drew University; Chair, Alumni/ae College Advisory Board
      • Linda served as Catalog Librarian and Acquisitions Librarian before heading the Acquisitions Department in 1973. She was named Head of Acquisitions and Collection Development in 1986, Associate Librarian in 1996, and Senior Librarian in 2006, still with primary responsibility for collection development. Linda’s contributions go far beyond the library. A devoted alumna, she has been part of the College Alumni/ae Association since 1994, and has served on its Executive, Nomination, and Admissions Committees. She was instrumental in launching Alumni/ae College in 2003, has chaired its Advisory Board and recruited faculty for the Board and as session presenters, and has consistently advocated for its programming. Alumni/ae College quickly reached a critical mass in 2004 and continues to draw graduates back to Drew.
  • Alumni/ae Volunteer Award  
    • Joyce Reilly C'74 
    • joyceExecutive Director, Logos Foundation; volunteer, Drew University Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study and Co-Chair, New Jersey Coalition Responds to the Crisis in Darfur 
      • Joyce has made a career as a professional volunteer, bringing help and hope to many people. In 1974 Joyce began working with schools, psychiatric hospitals, and therapeutic communities. In 1982 she founded The Spirit of Gheel and Gheel House, an innovative therapeutic community organization for the mentally and emotionally challenged in Kimberton, Pennsylvania, and directed the program until 1991. Since then her involvement with several organizations has ranged from infant evaluation of at-risk children and social work case management to fundraising and tenant group organization. She was a founding member and the first executive director of the Association of Residential Treatment Centers in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Along the way, she oversaw the family business as a member of the New York Stock Exchange from 1999 to 2006.
  • Young Alumni/ae Award  
    • Steve DeLuca C'99 
    • steveDirector of State Government Relations, Capital One Financial
      • Steve moved to Richmond, Virginia after graduation to join Capital One, now one of the nation's largest banks, as a project manager. Eventually, he became chief of staff for the senior vice president of the Payments business, where he helped build a 100-person start-up division and was a speechwriter for the president of US Card. He is now director of state government relations, Capital One’s chief lobbyist in Virginia and New Jersey, representing the company's interests to the executive and legislative branches, trade groups, and community organizations. He takes special pride in his current position, for which he lacked formal qualifications but was able to make a convincing case for the value of his in-house experience. Capital One has recognized his work with three Circle of Excellence Awards. As a volunteer, Steve is an active firefighter with Hanover County Fire Department Engine Co. No. 10 and chairs the company's Board of Directors.