Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

December 3, 2012

TO:Scott Scarborough, Ph.D.

Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.

Chancellor and Executive Vice President for Biosciences &

Health Affairs, Dean of the College of Medicine

FROM:Patricia R. Komuniecki, Ph.D.

Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs & Dean

College of Graduate Studies

Co-Chair, Academic Honors Committee

Patricia Metting, Ph.D.

Vice Chancellor & Associate Dean for Student Affairs

Co-Chair, Academic Honors Committee

RE:Five nominations for Honorary Degrees

The Academic Honors Committee has voted to recommend five individuals to the Board of Trusteesfor consideration for honorary degrees:

Ms. Sandra Pianalto and Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth, confirmed speakers for UT’sSpring 2013 commencement ceremonies on May 5.
Dr. Paul Abramowitz and Dr. Suzanne Epstein, to attend College of Pharmacy Spring 2013 commencement.
Mr. Robert Savage, long-time local businessman and community advocate.

Ms. Sandra PianaltoHissjjs- Sandra Pianalto is one of 12 regional Federal Reserve presidents and chief executive officers. She presides over the Fourth District Federal Reserve Bank located in Cleveland. The Fourth District covers Ohio and parts of Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is important to note that she helps set monetary policy, not only for the region, but also for the nation.

Ms. Pianalto’s tenure with the Bank spans more than 20 years. She joined the Bank in 1983 as an economist in the Research Department. She was appointed Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs in 1984, Vice President and Secretary to the Board of Directors in 1988, and First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 1993. She assumed her position as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2003. Before joining the Bank, Ms. Pianalto was an economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Service System and served on the staff of the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ms. Pianalto is active in the Fourth District’s civic community. She serves on the boards of directors of many community organizations, including The Cleveland Foundation, the Greater

Cleveland Partnership, University Hospitals Health System, United Way Services of Cleveland, the Rock and Roll of Fame and Museum, the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Foundation, and the Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy.

She was born in Italy and at the age of five moved with her parents and three siblings to Akron, Ohio. As a third-grader, Pianalto helped her parents study for their citizenship examinations, which ignited a lifelong fascination with the structure and workings of American government.

Ms. Pianalto earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Akron and a master’s degree in economics from The George Washington University. She is a graduate of the

Advanced Management Program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and holds honorary doctor of humane letters degrees from the University of Akron, Baldwin-Wallace College, Kent State University, and Ursuline College. She also received an honorary doctor of business administration degree from Cleveland State University.

Ms. Pianalto has accepted Dr. Jacobs’ invitation to be the keynote speaker at the UT 2013 Spring Semester morning commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 5. The Academic Honors Committee recommends that the University of Toledo confer Ms. Sandra Pianalto the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa.

Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth- Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth has been President and CEO of Battelle Memorial Institute since January 2009. Battelle is the world’s largest nonprofit research and development organization, executing about $6.5B of work annually and employing about 24,500 people.

He joined Battelle in 2002 and served as a member of the White House Transition Planning Office for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. From 2003-2007, he was Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest multipurpose science laboratory. He also led the expansion of Battelle’s operations into China, Japan, Korea, and India and the development of partnerships with the private sector in those nations.

He was educated at Sheffield University in England, where he studied metallurgy, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1972 and a Ph.D. in 1975. (In 2004 he received the highest recognition conferred by the University, an honorary Doctor of Engineering Degree.) Dr. Wadsworth came to the United States in 1976 and has worked at Stanford University, Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Dr. Wadsworth has authored or co-authored nearly 300 scientific papers, one book, and has been granted U.S. patents. His many honors and awards include five honorary doctorates, two honorary professorships from Chinese universities, and election to the rank of Fellow of ASM (the Materials Information Society), TMS (The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society), and AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science). He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2005 and the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2012. He has been a consulting or adjunct professor at Stanford, the University of California, the University of Tennessee, and The Ohio State University. His technical contributions are recognized internationally in the fields of super plasticity of metals and ceramics, refractory metals, high temperature materials, Damascus and other ancient steels, carbon dating of ancient steels, and for leadership in national defense and science programs.

His recent awards include the 2013 Acta Materialia Inc. Materials & Society Award, the ASM International’s 2011 Medal for the Advancement of Research, the 2010 Navigator Award from the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, the 2010 Friendship Award of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for contributions and dedication to China’s economic construction and social development, the 2009 National Materials Advancement Award from the Federation of Materials Societies, the 2009 ASM/TMS Distinguished Lectureship in Materials & Society, and the 2009 Globe and Anchor Award from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.

As a Board member of Achieve, Inc. and the Business Higher Education Forum, Dr. Wadsworth is helping to lead national efforts to enhance science, technology, engineering and math education. He is also strengthening education and the economy of Central Ohio through his engagement with a number of local civic and community organizations. In 2010 he became a member of the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University. From 2009-2010 he was the inaugural chair of the Ohio State University Medical

Center Board. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Carpenter Technology Corporation in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Wadsworth has accepted Dr. Jacobs’ invitation to be the keynote speaker at the UT 2013 Spring Semester afternoon commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 5. The Academic Honors Committee recommends that the University of Toledo confer Dr. Wadsworth the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering, Honoris Causa.

Dr. Paul Abramowitz–Dr. Abramowitz is referred to as a senior leader in the world of Pharmacy. Currently he is CEO of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Prior to joining ASHP in September 2011, Dr. Abramowitz had worked in hospitals and health-systems for over 30 years, most recently as Associate Hospital Director for Professional Services and Chief Pharmacy Officer at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He also served as professor and Assistant Dean at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. He was previously the Director of Pharmacy and a faculty member at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and the University of Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics.

Dr. Abramowitz received his Bachelors Degree in Pharmacy from the University of Toledo, his Pharm.D. from the University of Michigan, and completed his residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center.

In addition to serving as Treasurer of ASHP from 2007-10 and as ASHP President in 1993-94, he chaired the Board of the ASHP Research and Education Foundation, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Directors of the Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center and the University Health System Consortium Pharmacy Council.

Dr. Abramowitz has actively combined practice, teaching, and research throughout his career. He has lectured and published extensively focusing on the effect that quality pharmaceutical care can have on improving outcomes of care and reducing costs, reduction of adverse drug events, developing new care models, and practice innovation.

He was a recipient of the John W. Webb Lecture Award in 2000 and the Harvey A.K. Whitney Lecture Award in 2009, health-system pharmacy’s highest honor. In 1990 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy; in 1995 the ASHP Award for Achievement in the Professional Practice of Hospital Pharmacy; and in 2010 he received the alumni Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy.

Currently, Dr. Abramowitz serves on the Board of Governors of the National Patient Safety Foundation and the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. He is also a Professor Emeritus at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Abramowitz is an exceptional pharmacist leader who has continuously demonstrated commitment to practice, the education and training of students and residents, and scholarship. He will attend the Spring 2013 College of Pharmacy commencement. The Academic Honors Committee recommends that the University of Toledo confer Dr. Paul Abramowitz the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Dr. Suzanne Epstein– Dr. Epstein currently serves as Associate Director for Research, Office of Cellular, Tissue, and Gene Therapies, CBER, FDA. She has made significant contributions to advance the field of basic pharmaceutical science. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her Ph.D. from MIT, and she trained as a researcher at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Epstein studies vaccines against the influenza the virus, one of the deadliest viruses to afflict humanity. Since 1985 she has been a researcher and regulator at FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) in Maryland. Over the years, Dr. Epstein has helda number of important positions at FDA.

Dr. Epstein’s laboratory is a leader among scientists trying to develop “universal” influenza vaccines that induce broad immunity to many different strains of influenza. The existing vaccine system is slow and laborious, and we remain vulnerable to the emergence of new influenza strains (pandemics). A universal vaccine would protect the public health by providing rapid immunity during a pandemic. Dr. Epstein has shown that universal influenza vaccines are possible, and she has demonstrated exactly how these vaccines provide protection against influenza.

She has published numerous peer-reviewed research and regulatory articles, book chapters, and invited reviews in numerous medical journals of national and international repute. She is invited to speak as an expert at major national and international conferences and academic, government and other organizations. She has received competitive research grants from numerous organizations including from National Vaccine Program, FDA Chief Scientist’s challenge grant, DHHS counter-terrorism and emergency preparedness programs, TransNIH/FDA Biodefense (NIAID) and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Dr. Epstein is an expert reviewer of scientific articles submitted for consideration for publication in numerous medical journals. Over the years, Dr. Epstein has received numerous awards including an FDA group award for Excellence in Laboratory Science, in 2010 and a Center Director’s Distinguished Service Award in 2011.

In addition to her research, Dr. Epstein’s other FDA activities include helping to regulate gene therapy and cell therapy clinical trials, and she also serves as the Associate Director for Research in the Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies. Dr. Epstein has mentored numerous scientists within her own laboratory by providing scientific training and career development advice. In addition, she mentored principle investigators under her lab when she was a lab chief. In recent years, in her capacity as Associate Director for Research, she now makes time for mentoring more broadly to any principal investigator within the Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies.

Dr. Epstein is dedicated to the mission of the Office of Cellular Tissue and Gene Therapies and CBER and gives selflessly of her time and energy to benefit these larger groups. She excels in all that she does and is a treasure at CBER. The Academic Honors Committee recommends that the University of Toledo confer Dr. Suzanne Epstein the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Mr. Robert C. Savage–Mr. Savage was President and CEO of Savage and Associates from 1975 – 2003. He now holds the title of Chairman Emeritus. In l959 he graduated from UT with a Bachelor’s degree in Business, majoring in Finance. Throughout his collegiate career he was heavily involved in student government and the campus newspaper. He served on the UT Foundation Board from 2001-2010, and the UT Board of Trustees from 1987-1996. He has also served on the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees.

Mr. Savage has been very influential in the Toledo business community over the years, and has been recognized by numerous organizations for his many accomplishments spanning the business, civic, cultural and other aspects of his life and career.

He was elected to Toledo City Council at age 25 and elected Vice Mayor of Toledo at age 29.

Mr. Savage has served on numerous boards: Toledo Edison, First Energy Foundation, COSI, First Solar, Charter One Bank, Cedar Fair LP, Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce, Oblates St. Francis deSales, St. Vincent Medical Center, Notre Dame Academy, and Columbus Mutual Life.

Mr. Savage is current President of the Toledo Science Society and former President of the Toledo Opera Association.

His awards include City of Toledo’s Outstanding Young Man of the Year (1965); Ernst and Young, Merrill Lynch and Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year Award (1991); Executive of the Year Award, Toledo Planning Forum (1992); Columbus Life Insurance Hall of Fame (1998); 36th inductee into General Agents and Managements Association – GAMA (1999); UT’s Gold Award (2003); College of Business Pacemaker of the Year Award (2010), among others.

Over the years, under the leadership of Mr. Savage and his older brother John, Savage & Associates has become an extremely successful local business, ranking as one of the 100 largest life insurance based, financial planning and investment companies in the U.S.As indicated above, Mr. Savage, in addition to being a leading business executive in NW Ohio, has contributed much time and his talents to enhance his industry, his community, fellow businesses and the University of Toledo, as well as other schools and colleges.

Mr. and Mrs. Savage have contributed generously to multiple UT scholarships, athletics and the College of Business and Innovation’s Savage & Associates Complex for Business, which is named in their honor.

The Savage Foundation was established in 2003 as part of the Company’s Statement of Purpose to provide a generous donation of time, talent, and financial resources to community endeavors in Toledo and surrounding areas. The foundation provides grants and donations to non-profit and charitable organizations committed to improving the quality of life and well-being of residents in these communities.

Mr. Savage has made a huge difference in the lives of many individuals and numerous organizations, including UT. The Academic Honors Committee recommends that the University of Toledo confer Mr. Robert Savage the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Commercial Science, honoris causa.