The Grove City College Alumni Association honored five notable alumni over Homecoming Weekend 2016.
The Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement Award is presented annually by the Grove City College Alumni Association in recognition of alumni who have had distinctive success in their field. This year’s recipients encompass a variety of fields, including medicine, business and academia:
• Drs. Sandra (Marshall ’59) Clark and L. Marvin Clark ’53, a physician team, retired after a varied career in medicine divided between private practice in Clarion-Brookville, Pa. and providing medical care in underdeveloped regions of Africa and Indonesia. They continue to present programs on mission work and medical international projects. The Clarks reside in Arizona, where they are proud parents and grandparents.
• Milton W. Shlapak ’59 is president and owner of Shlapak Development Company, an international commercial developer working in Southeast Asia and the United States. He previously worked in engineering design in the space industry for General Dynamics and NASA, where he was chief project engineer for the launch of the Saturn V missile/Apollo program. In 2015, he acquired Merendon Mining and Development Company, a gold mining and hydroelectric company in Peru, Ecuador, Honduras and Venezuela.
• Dr. Brian L. Leftow ’77 is the Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion at Oriel College of Oxford University. Since his acceptance of the position in 2002, Leftow became the first non-British philosopher to hold his post since Oriel College was founded in the 14th century. He is the author of nearly one hundred scholarly articles and several books. He and his wife live in Oxford.
The Grove City College Alumni Association established the award program in 1964. The awards were later named in honor and memory of longtime Director of Alumni Relations and Career Services Jack Kennedy ’37, who had an indelible impact on the lives and futures of thousands of Grovers. The awardees are selected each spring by a committee of the Alumni Association.
Also conferred annually is the Alumni Distinguished Service Award, presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the College through consistent service in exceptions ways.
• The Rev. Dr. Richard A. Morledge ’54 is the retired Dean of the Chapel. He guided the spiritual life on campus from 1984 to 1999, during which he directed Harbison Chapel programming, led weekly vespers worship and presided over special ceremonies. He was a dedicated member of the Alumni Council and Board of Trustees. He was a corporate board member of North Hills Passavant Hospital, Pittsburgh; and on the board of directors, Helen Gordon Interests, Inc., Houston, Texas; a community advisory board member of St. Barnabas in Gibsonia; and on the advisory board of Pittsburgh's Child. He authored two books: “It’s a Great Day in the Kingdom” and “Great Days in the Kingdom.”