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Three Smeal Grads to Receive Distinguished Alumni Award

The Penn State Board of Trustees on Jan. 20 selected three Smeal College of Business graduates among the seven Penn State alumni to be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award, the University's highest award for an individual.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (February 6, 2012) -- The Penn State Board of Trustees on Jan. 20 selected three Smeal College of Business graduates among the seven Penn State alumni to be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award, the University's highest award for an individual.

The Distinguished Alumni Award salutes the achievements of outstanding alumni whose "personal lives, professional achievements, and community service exemplify the objectives of their alma mater."

Smeal's 2012 Distinguished Alumni are Peter J. Cocoziello, president and CEO of Advance Realty in Bedminster, N.J.; Joan Dawson McConnon, co-founder, associate executive director, and chief financial officer of Project H.O.M.E. Inc. in Philadelphia; and Robert D. Metzgar, retired president of North Penn Pipe and Supply Inc. in Warren, Pa.

Cocoziello, a 1973 graduate of Smeal with a bachelor's degree in Finance, is a member of the college's Board of Visitors and co-chair of the Smeal Real Estate Advisory Board. In 1979, he formed Advance Realty Group, which specializes in real estate development, construction, and property management, and is one of the leading real estate owners in the Northeast.

McConnon graduated from Smeal in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and earned a master's in Taxation from Drexel University. In 1989, McConnon and Sister Mary Scullion founded Project H.O.M.E., a nationally recognized organization that provides supportive housing, employment, education, and health care to chronically homeless and low-income individuals. She is the recipient of Drexel University's Service to Community Award, the Spirit of Philadelphia award, and the Catherine McAuley Spirit of Mercy award.

Metzgar, a 1960 Smeal graduate with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, is a Penn State Trustee Emeritus and a member of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows. He has served as treasurer of the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association and on the board of directors of the New York Oil and Gas Association. In 1996, he was named an Alumni Fellow of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu.

Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, management and organization, marketing, risk management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.

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