Matthew A. Meisenhelter of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and Ruth E. Elsasser of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania will share the first Syed R. Ali-Zaidi Award for Academic Excellence.

Meisenhelter of Red Lion and Elsasser of Mansfield each will receive $500 and a medallion in recognition of their outstanding academic performance and involvement in extra-curricular activities.

The award was established by Syed R. Ali-Zaidi, a founding member of the State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors, to annually recognize and reward a graduating senior from one of the 14 state-owned universities. Meisenhelter and Elsasser tied for the inaugural award, which was presented at the quarterly Board of Governors meeting.

Each of the 14 State System university presidents was asked to nominate a student for the Ali-Zaidi award. A committee appointed by the chancellor reviewed the nominations and presented the names of the finalists to the Board’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee, which made the final selection.

In addition to this year’s co-winners of the award, there are three runners-up. They are Melinda J. Primm of Smithton and California University of Pennsylvania, Eric Macklin of Allentown and Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and Timothy A. Evans of Hooversville and Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.

Funds for the annual award come from donations made to the Fund for the Advancement of the State System of Higher Education, Inc.

Dr. Ali-Zaidi has served two terms on the Board of Governors. He initially was appointed to the Board by then-Gov. Dick Thornburgh, upon the creation of the System in 1983. He later was re-appointed by Gov. Tom Ridge. Dr. Ali-Zaidi also has been a member of the Council of Trustees at Clarion University of Pennsylvania for 20 years.

During his first term on the Board, Dr. Ali-Zaidi served as chair of the Academic Policy and Planning Committee, where he provided leadership in establishing basic academic policies. He also chaired the Board’s long-range strategic planning task force, which made recommendations that guided academic program development and provided the foundation for Imperatives for the Future.

In his current term, Dr. Ali-Zaidi chaired the Task Force on Science and Advanced Technology Education, Workforce Development and Implementation Research. The task force organized a technology summit and made recommendations leading to the establishment of the Keystone Initiative for Science and Advanced Technology, the Office of Corporate Alliances and the System’s Venture Capital Loan Fund.

With more than 96,000 students, the State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. More than 360,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh.