2003 Outstanding Alumni Award

C. Daniel Azzara is vice president of research and development at Hershey Foods Corporation. Azzara began working for Hershey Foods as a senior staff scientist in 1986. In 1991, he was promoted to manager of ingredients research in Hershey's research group. He has since held several positions within the company prior to his current position including director of confectionery/reduced fat and calorie product development. Azzara is joint author of a patent for reduced fat confectionery products and process. He is an active member of the Institute of Food Technologists and Chocolate Manufacturers Association and serves on the boards of the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Confectioners' Association, the National Food Processors Association, and the International Life Sciences Institute. He is a board member of the Penn State Food Industry Group, and has served on the College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society Board of Directors. He earned a bachelor's degree in science education from Virginia Tech in 1978, and master's and doctoral degrees in food science from Penn State in 1984 and 1986, respectively.

Paul I. Hann Sr. has recently retired after more than 40 years as manager of poultry business development and national accounts for the Purina Mills Division of Land O'Lakes. He continues to work as a consultant to Purina Mills and other poultry industry organizations. He has been a respected member and leader of the Pennsylvania Poultry Industry for more than 25 years. He has served as a member and officer of numerous professional organizations and committees and was actively involved in facilitating the merger of the Pennsylvania Poultry Federation with PennAg Industries Association, which resulted in the establishment of the PennAg Poultry Council in 1998. During the past decade, Hann has also established and maintained close ties to the Department of Poultry Science through service on both its Industry Advisory Group and Egg Advisory Committee and as a cofounder and president of the newly established Poultry Science Alumni Group. He was also a key player in helping create the Pennsylvania Poultry Research Check-Off program, which provides significant financial support for applied poultry research conducted by investigators throughout the College of Agricultural Sciences. Hann earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural education from Penn State in 1962.

H. Duane Norman is research leader at the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory (AIPL) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. Norman joined the AIPL as a research geneticist in 1970 and was named research leader in 1988. Norman was responsible for development of national genetic evaluations for yield and conformation traits and for coordinating research leading to genetic evaluations for mastitis resistance, longevity, calving ease, and fertility. He is a fellow of the American Dairy Science Association, which honored him with the 1995 J. L. Lush Award in Animal Breeding and Genetics, one of the highest honors in animal genetics. He has chaired and served on several dairy industry committees and is past president of the National Dairy Shrine. Norman earned a bachelor's degree in dairy production in 1964 and a master's degree in dairy breeding in 1967, both from Penn State. He earned a doctoral degree in animal breeding from Cornell University in 1970.

Donald G. Sargeant is chancellor emeritus of the University of Minnesota-Crookston (UMC), having just recently stepped down after serving 18 years as chancellor. He is on sabbatical for the present academic year. Before his 1985 appointment as chancellor, Sargeant served as assistant provost for Academic Affairs, chair of the Agriculture Division, and professor of agriculture at UMC. Sargeant serves as chair of the Midwestern Higher Education Commission for Interactive Courseware and Distributed Learning Workshop Board and is a member of the Minnesota Educational Telecommunications Council; the Valley Technology Park Board; the Crookston Jobs, Inc., Board; and is president of the Glenmore Foundation. He has served as a consultant/evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission, member of the publications committee of the National Association of College Teachers of Agriculture, the Minnesota Educational Telecommunications Council, the Northwest Educational Telecommunications System, and the Minnesota Campus Compact Steering Committee. Sargeant earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural education and a master's degree in education, both from the University of Illinois, in 1963 and 1966, respectively. He received his doctoral degree in agricultural education from Penn State in 1970.

Eileen D. Watson currently serves as the NAFTA lead for a global reengineering project for Syngenta, a world-leading agribusiness specializing in crop protection and commercial seed distribution. She also has served as Syngenta's business planning and forecasting redesign lead. Previously, Watson worked as vice president of product portfolio management in the marketing department of Novartis Crop Protection, Inc., and as global head of product management for the Novartis fungicides unit, stationed in Basel, Switzerland. She also held positions at Ciba-Geigy Corporation, where she managed commercial and regulatory affairs. Watson earned a bachelor's degree in plant pathology at Cornell University in 1975. She obtained a master's degree in plant breeding from the University of Nevada at Reno in 1978 and earned a doctoral degree in plant pathology from Penn State in 1982.

Steven A. Williams is director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As director he oversees the operations of the nation's primary wildlife conservation agency with more than 7,500 employees and a budget of 1.94 billion dollars. Williams served previously as secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks from 1995 through 2002. He also served as deputy executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission from 1992 to 1995; assistant director for wildlife for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife from 1989 to 1992; and wildlife biologist specializing in research and management for white-tailed deer for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife from 1985 to 1989, working on wildlife habitat analysis. He earned a bachelor's degree in environmental resource management in 1979 and a doctorate in forest resources in 1986, both from Penn State. He earned a master of science degree from the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks in 1981.