April 30, 2002
IUP senior wins second Syed R. Ali-Zaidi Award
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
LukeJ. Matthews of Indiana University of Pennsylvania is the recipient of the second Syed R. Ali-Zaidi Award for Academic Excellence.
Matthews of Bryn Mawr will receive $1,000 and a medallion in recognition of his outstanding academic performance and involvement in extra-curricular activities. He will graduate May 11 with a double major in anthropology and biology from IUP’s Robert E. Cook Honors College.
He spent the 2000-01 academic year at the University of New Mexico as part of the National Student Exchange and completed an independent study on the evolutionary genetics of chimpanzees. In the summer of 1999, Matthews attended the University of York Archaeological Field School in York, England.
The Ali-Zaidi award was established by Syed R. Ali-Zaidi, a founding member of the Pennsylvania 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. Funds for the annual award come from donations made to the Fund for the Advancement of the State System of Higher Education, Inc.
Each of the 14 State System university presidents was asked to nominate a student for the 2002 Ali-Zaidi award. The Board’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee selected this year’s winner from among 11 nominees.
Jessica L. Smith of Clarion, who will graduate from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, is this year’s runner-up and Ellen F. Panofsky of Holland, Pa., and a student at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, is second runner-up.
Other students nominated by their university presidents for the Ali-Zaidi award are Richard Bradshaw of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Michelle Filling of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Molly O. Manley of California University of Pennsylvania, Jennifer Moore of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Dawn Qualli of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Andrew Stees of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, Daniel Zawisza of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and Carolyn R. Zulauf of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
Each of the nominees will be recognized at his or her graduation.
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 State System in 1983. He later was re-appointed by then-Gov. Tom Ridge. Dr. Ali-Zaidi also has been a member of the Council of Trustees at Clarion University of Pennsylvania for more than 20 years.
During his firm term on the Board, Dr. Ali-Zaidi served as chair of the Academic Policy and Planning Committee. He also chaired the Board’s long-range strategic planning task force. In his current term, Dr. Ali-Zaidi chaired the Task Force on Science and Advanced Technology Education, Workforce Development and Implementation Research, which 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 98,600 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. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.