Distinguished Alumni Award

The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor that The Pennsylvania State University bestows upon an outstanding alumnus/a. The award salutes the achievements of outstanding alumni whose "personal lives, professional achievements, and community service exemplify the objectives of their Alma Mater." The award is an engraved bronze medallion, matching pendant, and framed inscribed certificate.

2006 Smeal College of Business Distinguished Alumni

William A. Donan '68

Somewhere deep in the archives of Pattee Library is a picture from The Daily Collegian of Bill Donan trying to climb one of the flagpoles on Old Main lawn. "I was going for the American flag," Donan says. "Myself and another student were trying to lower it to half staff following the assassination of Martin Luther King." Donan describes that spring of 1968 as a time when the campus was awakening to the issues of the day--namely the war in Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement. "I was lucky I didn't get in trouble for that picture, given that I was in the Army ROTC," Donan adds.

Donan had arrived after two years at the Ogontz campus—now Penn State.

Abington—north of his native Philadelphia. "I wanted to fly from an early age," Donan explains, "and I received an appointment to the Air Force Academy." When that didn't work out, he says Penn State was the most affordable option."

Though it meant a long commute from his West Philadelphia home every day, Donan found Ogontz a comfortable fit. "At that time it wasn't much bigger than my high school so it made for a smooth transition to college," he says. After two years, Donan was ready to be away from home and welcomed the move to University Park.

Following graduation, Donan had his chance to fly, serving as a fixed-wing aviator in the U.S. Army for five years and achieving the rank of captain. Though he had orders for Vietnam he never went there—instead his hardship tour was in Saudi Arabia. Upon discharge in 1973, he accepted an entry-level sales position with American Hospital Supply Corporation in Southern California. Donan advanced quickly with American, rising to vice president and general manager in five years. Further promotions followed. Four years after American merged with Baxter International, Donan became president of their Pharmaseal Division. Before retiring in 2001, Donan served as the southeast region president for Allegiance Healthcare Corporation, which had spun off from Baxter in 1996. In that position, he managed a regional operation with a staff of more than 1,000 in 40 locations and $1 billion in sales.

In 2002, he founded Executive Management Consulting, LLC, a senior management consulting firm. Donan, who serves on several boards for both profit and non-profit companies, also devotes considerable time and money to support initiatives within the Smeal College of Business. From guest lecturer in the classroom to mentor to undergraduate and MBA students to commencement speaker, Donan has shared his expertise with future business leaders. Additionally, he served on Smeal's Alumni Society Board, is a member of the Hammond Society, and currently serves on Smeal's Board of Visitors. Since 1997, Donan has established an undergraduate scholarship, MBA fellowship, and an endowed professorship within the Smeal College of Business--all with the goal of promoting diversity within the student body and faculty.

Penn State previously honored Donan as an Alumni Fellow in 1994. He is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association and lives with his wife, Pamela, near Atlanta.

Robert E. Poole '72

Bob Poole, president and CEO of S&A Homes and Poole Anderson Construction, the State College based residential and commercial construction companies, says he’s never actually built a building. But he has worked on every phase of building, from carrying concrete blocks for foundations to hauling bundles of shingles up ladders. The experience gave him a better appreciation for what it takes to build, he says, and the construction crews respected him for being out there. Though he wasn’t out building the buildings, Poole did everything else when he entered the construction business 25 years ago: he sold homes, helped buyers pick finishes, and even drove them to the lender for a mortgage.

Today, S&A Homes and its affiliated companies build more than 600 residential units plus commercial buildings each year. S&A is one of the top 200 homebuilders in the country. Beyond commercial and residential construction, Poole’s holdings include building supply, realty, property management, and home funding concerns. He gets by on just a few hours of sleep each night. “I love what I do and whether it’s my business dealings or my non-profit work, I can’t wait to get to it each day,” he says.

As a kid growing up just outside Philadelphia, Poole says his first love was baseball. When he realized he probably wouldn’t play beyond high school, he considered pursuing sports announcing at Syracuse University. Instead, he enrolled at Penn State. “It had a good accounting program, I liked numbers, and it was affordable,” he explains.

After graduating, he accepted a job with an accounting firm in New York. He left that firm in 1975 to be the treasurer of Chemac, Inc., a New Jersey chemical machinery importer. While there, he earned an M.B.A. from Farleigh Dickinson University, but he says that in the back of his mind he always wanted to be an entrepreneur. His brother-in-law had a home building operation in Central Pennsylvania, which was how he got into real estate. Poole opened a State College office and has grown the company ever since, doubling it size every five years, a trend he plans to continue. “It’s important that this company survives me,” he says. “A lot of people have dedicated their lives to growing the business.”

Poole devotes considerable time and money to local organizations. He was chair of the Centre County United Way’s 2004 Campaign, co-chair of the State College YMCA’s capital campaign and supported the development of the S&A Stadium and baseball fields at the Shaner Sports Complex. Her serves on the boards of two land preservation organizations and is committed to providing affordable housing. Poole has also served as chairman of the board of The Second Mile for twelve years. Among other honors, Poole was recognized as the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000.

At Penn State, Poole has served on many committees and currently sits on the Smeal College of Business Board of Visitors and Schreyer Honors College Advisory Board. Penn State has previously honored Poole as an Alumni Fellow in 2001 and an Outstanding Accounting Alumnus in 1999. A life member of the Penn State Alumni Association, Poole and his wife, Sandy, live near State College. They have three grown daughters and three grandchildren.

See Past Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients