Six Albright College alumni were honored during an Alumni Weekend awards ceremony, April 26 2023, in the McMillan Center. Award recipient include: Eric Artz ’89 (Medina Wash.), Ann-Marie Aymer ’98 (North Plainfield, N.J.), JeAnna Durnell-Roman ’12 (Reading, Pa.), R. Scott French ’87 (New York, N.Y.), Benjamin Starnes, M.D. ’88 (Mercer Island, Wash.) and Sally Wojcik ’04 (Philadelphia, Pa.).
Young Alumni Achievement Award: JeAnna Durnell-Roman ’12
The Young Alumni Achievement Award recognizes Albright College graduates, who are 35 years or younger when nominated, demonstrating outstanding professional or volunteer achievements. A first-generation college student, JeAnna Durnell-Roman began helping others access college after graduating from Albright College with a degree in psychology. She went on to earn an M.S.Ed., in educational entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania and currently serves as admissions director at the Stone Independent School.
Mary Fry Good ’49 Service to Alma Mater Award: R. Scott French ’87
This award is presented to Albright alumni for outstanding service to their alma mater.
Earning a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising from Albright College, R. Scott French possesses a broad skill set within the fashion industry with an eclectic experience ranging from retail and wholesale, to design and production, and most recently public relations. He has been designing under his own label since the late 1980s and has designed his namesake collection of designer men’s and women’s sportswear since 1999. An active member of the Council Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Scott is a New York runway regular and has shown 10 collections as part of New York Fashion Week. He has appeared on Bravo Network, NBC, Fox News, FuseTV, MetroChannel, Style, TLC, Network and NY1, as well as a myriad of worldwide printed press and hundreds of websites. His body of work has been published in 10 books.
Distinguished Alumni Awards: Ann-Marie Aymer ’98, Benjamin Starnes, M.D. ’88 and Sally Wojcik ’04
This award recognizes outstanding service and accomplishment in at least one of the following areas: community, state, nation, church, profession, academic and/or service organizations.
Ann-Marie Aymer has been the head of youth services at Summit Free Public Library since June 2013. With over 20 years of public library experience focused primarily on youth and families, she strives to always find the right resource for the right patron at the right time. She advocates for the needs of younger patrons and their parents and serves as a liaison between the library and several community organizations. Her ultimate goal is to ensure that the library remains a resource for learners of every age. Aymer holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in music from Albright College and a master’s degree in library and information studies from Rutgers University.
A board-certified vascular surgeon at Harborview Medical Center, Benjamin Starnes, M.D. is a professor of vascular surgery, chief of the division of vascular surgery and vice chair of the department of surgery for UW Medicine in Seattle, Washington. He also holds the Alexander Whitehill Clowes Endowed Chair in Vascular Surgery. Starnes is recognized nationally and internationally for his work in complex aortic pathology and vascular trauma, most notably the management of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms and acute aortic syndromes. Prior to accepting his position at the University of Washington, he spent a total of 15 years in the United States Army serving three combat tours, one in Kosovo and two in Iraq. He is the principal investigator for one of only a handful of physician-sponsored IDE’s in the United States involving physician modified fenestrated endografts. Starnes earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Albright College.
Sally Wojcik studied theatre, English and secondary education at Albright College, graduating summa cum laude and with Departmental Distinction. Directly after graduation, Wojcik accepted a position at Arden Theatre Company in the Arden Professional Apprentice Program — one of the country’s most competitive and rigorous theatre training programs. In 2009, she developed the curriculum for and took leadership of the theatre department at the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, a special admissions high school in the School District of Philadelphia. She has been the school’s director of theatre ever since. There, she runs a holistic program and produces and directs three shows per year. She holds a master’s degree in secondary English education, was a 2020 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching recipient, a member of the 2022 Blue Ribbon School committee, and is currently a semi-finalist for the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year.
Jacob Albright Award: Eric Artz ’89
The Jacob Albright Award is the highest honor bestowed upon an Albright graduate. It is presented to alumni who have used their liberal arts education to its greatest potential, thereby making outstanding contributions to the Albright community, their profession and society.
President and chief executive officer for REI Co-op, Eric Artz, joined REI in March 2012 as chief financial officer and became chief operating officer and executive vice president in August 2014. He was named the co-op’s chief executive in May of 2019. Holding a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Albright College, Artz has led teams in retail, digital, strategy, supply-chain and information technology, and helped the business rise to $3.7 billion in sales for 2021 and a growing community of more than 21 million lifetime members and 16,000 employees. He is a board member of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Challenge Seattle and serves as a non-executive director of United Natural Foods, Inc.
