News Release
October 2005
Bethlehem, Pa. October 18, 2005— The Moravian College Alumni
Association will honor five distinguished alumni at the 6th Annual Alumni Awards Ceremony
on Friday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m. in Peter Hall.
Jessica Edris ’00, Bethlehem, Pa., will receive the Emerging
Leader Award, which is given to a recent graduate for outstanding service and leadership
to Moravian College. Edris, a double major in business management and philosophy and
a financial economics minor, graduated magna cum laude from the college. Since graduation,
she has served as a career mentor, a career panelist, and a table host for both the
Senior Breakfast and the Freshman Banquet , in addition to being an active participant
in numerous alumni events and programs. In 2002 she was elected to the Young Alumni
Board and has served as vice president twice and president once. Despite work commitments
in the non-profit and financial sectors, Edris has continued to develop relationships
with fellow Moravian alumni and to encourage them to continue their involvement with
the college.
Sean Richardson ’97, of Arlington, Virginia, will be the recipient of the Young
Alumni Achievement Award. This Award is given to an alumnus or alumna of the last two
to ten years for exceptional professional success. Currently, Richardson serves as the
Chief of Staff to U.S. Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI). One of the youngest chiefs
of staff in Congress, he is responsible for managing all of Congressman Kennedy’s
legislative and political matters in Washington, D.C. and Rhode Island. Richardson began
his political career as policy advisor for Richard A. Gephardt , longtime Democratic
Leader of the House of Representatives, He left Capitol Hill for a short period in 1999
to join the CBS News Political Unit as an associate producer covering the presidential
campaigns of Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. In 2000, Richardson
returned to Congress to serve Tom Daschle, Democratic Leader of the U.S. Senate. He also
played an active role in the last two presidential campaigns, serving as the spokesperson
for Vice President Al Gore and the Democratic Coordinated Campaign in Harrisburg, Pa.,
and as an advisor for Gephardt's 2004 Presidential Campaign.
The Benigna Education Award for outstanding contributions to education
will be presented to Dr. Richard Bedics ’63, of Pensacola, Florida. For 28 years during his career,
Bedics dedicated his time and efforts to Pensacola Junior College (PJC), serving three
of the college’s campuses. He served as dean of instructional services, dean of
health-related education, and provost at two vastly different campuses, meeting the rapidly
changing needs of both the college and the community that it served. Bedics provided
critical innovative leadership in renovating curriculum, training faculty, regenerating
and developing programs, and cultivating relationships between the college and the community.
As provost, he first managed the remarkable expansion of PJC’s largest 25,000 student
Pensacola campus, and later helped to develop PJC’s rural Milton campus, where
he fostered collaborative programming with low-income community youth, area high schools,
and the University of Florida.
Marjorie Flohr Weiss ’46 of Allentown, Pa., will be honored with the Haupert
Humanitarian Award for outstanding service in the cause of human welfare. From 1977 until
1997, she was Director of Volunteer Programs for Miller Blood Center in Bethlehem. As
she worked to build the Center’s strong volunteer program, she also obtained an
M.S. in Human Services Administration from the University of Scranton. From 1984 to 2003,
she helped found and lead the Volunteer Management Services for the Volunteer Center
of the Lehigh Valley. She served also as president of the Society of Volunteer Administrators
of the Lehigh Valley. For the last 10 years, she has been both an instructor and board
member of the Program for Women and Families, where she is a strong advocate, a cheerful
mentor, and a dedicated educator to women offenders. She is the recipient of numerous
awards, including the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania’s Evelyn Burston Award,
the Lehigh Valley Senior Citizen Freedom to Volunteer Award, and the Frank Madey Award
for Humanitarian Service.
The Moravian College Alumni Association will bestow its most prestigious
honor, the Comenius Alumni Award, to Dr. Peter French ’60, of Bradenton, Florida. The Comenius
Alumni Award recognizes lifetime achievement and/or service in the recipient’s
work. French graduated from Moravian College with honors in history and continued on
to earn masters and doctoral degrees in international relations from Yale University.
He worked in higher education as a faculty and senior administrative member at several
institutions , including the presidency of Newberry College , and was provost/vice-president
for academic affairs and professor of government at Mercy College. He is currently president
emeritus of Newberry College and associate vice president and dean for academic affairs
at the University of South Florida’s Sarasota Campus. Dr. French has pursued also
a lifelong interest and engagement in international relations, with particular emphasis
on Africa. He made 16 field trips to east Africa during a 22-year span . He is a recognized
consultant in higher education management, practices, development and institutional evaluation;
in that capacity, he has worked with the U.S. Peace Corps, the United Negro College Fund,
and the U.S. Department of Education. From 1986 to 1994, Dr. French served on the Moravian
College Board of Trustees.
For more complete information on all of the awards recipients, please visit http://www.moravian.edu/alumni/awardsArchive/awards2005.htm.
Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's
sixth-oldest college. Visit the web site at www.moravian.edu.
