Esteemed Alumni to Be Honored at Saint Joseph’s University’s Leadership Awards Dinner
PHILADELPHIA (July 31, 2017) – The Saint Joseph’s University Alumni Association is proud to announce the honorees who will be celebrated for their accomplishments and dedication to their alma mater at the Leadership Awards Dinner at Loews Philadelphia Hotel on Thursday, Nov. 2. Proceeds from the dinner, the University’s premier fundraising event, support students through the Shield of Loyola Scholarship Fund. Register>
Founding board member, Jack Kelly, from the Class of 1977 and Anita Gallagher Kelly, has been selected to receive the Reverend Joseph S. Hogan, S.J. Award. Ardent University supporters through philanthropy and volunteerism, the Kellys have served in numerous University-related service positions, including co-chairing the Barbelin Society, the University’s annual leadership giving society. They continue to belong to the Barbelin Society and have been long-time men’s basketball season ticket holders and Hawk Athletic Fund supporters for years.
Other honorees include:
Daniel J. Hilferty III ’78 (top left), the visionary president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross (Independence), one of the nation’s leading health insurance organizations, will receive the Shield of Loyola. The former vice chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, Hilferty is the 37th recipient of the Shield of Loyola. Since Hilferty became CEO in 2010, Independence and its affiliates have tripled their patient rolls to more than 8.5 million in 25 states and Washington, D.C., including more than 2.5 million in southeastern Pennsylvania, which makes Independence the region’s largest health insurer.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw ’77 (top middle), head coach of the University of Notre Dame’s renowned women’s basketball team, will be honored with the Alumni Professional Achievement Award. The winningest single-sport coach Fighting Irish history, McGraw is of six men’s or women’s basketball coaches in NCAA Division I history with 800 wins, seven Final Fours and five NCAA title games. In her 30 seasons, McGraw has compiled a 765-227 record, qualified for the past 22 NCAA tournament, and brought the NCAA Championship title to the South Bend, Indiana, university in 2001.
A human resources administrator at homeless empowerment and advocacy organization Project HOME, Scarlett McCahill ’06 (top right) will be honored with the Ignatius Award. Embracing the Ignatian tenet of “women with and for others” as a life motto, McCahill has held a number of positions at Project HOME. She now manages hiring and training for new staff and university interns across the organization, including a partnership with SJU’s Faith-Justice Institute, which provides service-learning student volunteers to agency sites.
