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ALLENTOWN, Pa., -- (May 5, 1999) -- Five individuals will receive honorary degrees during Muhlenberg College's 151st Commencement Exercises to be held on Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m. The ceremony will be held on the College's front lawn. (Rain location is Muhlenberg College Memorial Hall.)
Dr. Judah Folkman, M.D. will serve as the commencement speaker. He will also be the recipient of an honorary doctor of science degree. The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III and The Very Rev. Daniel G. Gambet will receive honorary doctor of divinities degrees; and David C. Masenheimer '81 and Kathryn Pelgrift Taylor will receive honorary doctor of humanities degrees.
Born in Cleveland in 1933, Dr. Folkman received his B.A. from Ohio State in 1953. He went on to Harvard University Medical School where he graduated magna cum laude. While a student at Harvard, he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Gross, where he developed the first atrioventricular implantable pacemaker.
In 1957, Folkman began internship and residency training in surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He was drafted by the Navy in 1960, and for the next two years, he was stationed at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. During this time, he conducted research, in collaboration with Dr. David Long, on the use of silicone rubber implantable polymers for the sustained release of drugs. This study led to the development of Norplant.
By 1967, Dr. Folkman was a professor of surgery at Harvard University Medical School. The following year, he was named Julia Dyckman Andrus Professor of Pediatric Surgery and in 1980, Dr. Folkman was appointed professor of anatomy and cellular biology.
In addition to his work at Mass General and Harvard, Dr. Folkman was assistant surgeon at Boston City Hospital (1965-1966), associate director of Sears Surgical Lab (1966-1967) and is currently director of the surgical research laboratory at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Folkman is the driving force behind the recent research to permanently eradicate large tumors in mice. His research, which began in 1960, indicates that cancerous tumors might be starved into submission by drugs that block the formation of the blood vessels that supply the tumor.
The author of 256 peer-reviewed papers, Dr. Folkman has been honored by numerous prestigious organizations. In 1989, he was the recipient of a 10-year Merit Award from the National Cancer Institute. The following year, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1992, the National Institutes of Health awarded Dr. Folkman the Christopher Columbus Discovery Award in Biomedical Research. That same year, he was awarded the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Congress on Cell and Tissue Culture.
As pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the oldest African-American church in New York City, the Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts is one of the nation's most prominent ministers. Under his direction, the activities of the Abyssinian Baptist Church have demonstrated the pervasive impact of the church on community development initiatives. In 1987, Dr. Butts and the members of his congregation established the Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC). ADC sponsored the Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change, an innovative school of 300 students in grades six through nine.
A prominent civil rights activist since the 1960's, Dr. Butts continues to be a vocal advocate for social justice. He is at the forefront of topical issues such as violent rap music lyrics, drug abuse and police brutality. He gained national attention while leading a successful campaign against negative billboard advertising in Central Harlem communities and other inner city areas.
In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Dr. Butts has served in leadership positions for numerous organizations. He is President of the Council of Churches in the City of New York; Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the United Way of New York City; and a member of the Central Park Conservancy Board. He has also served as Chairman of the Board for the Harlem Branch YMCA. Dr. Butts has taught courses in Urban Affairs at the City College of New York and in Black Church History at Fordham University.
Dr. Butts earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., a master's of divinity degree in church history from Union Theological Seminary in New York City and a doctorate in church and public policy from Drew University in Madison, NJ.
In 1965, Reverend Daniel G. Gambet came to Allentown College of Saint Francis de Sales as the first academic dean and instructor of Latin and history. In 1972, he was promoted to vice president, while simultaneously serving as provincial of the Eastern Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. On January 23, 1978, Rev. Gambet began his 21-year presidency at the College, an amazing accomplishment by any standards.
During his tenure, Allentown College has made tremendous strides. Enrollment has skyrocketed from 850 to 2,300. In 1996, U.S. News & World Report named Allentown College the number one "Best Value" among all northern regional liberal arts colleges.
A classicist by training, Fr. Gambet completed four years of study for the priesthood at DeSales Hall School of Theology. He earned a bachelor's degree in Latin and Greek from Niagara University (1954), a master's degree from the Catholic University of America (1957) and a doctorate in classical studies from the University of Pennsylvania (1963).
Fr. Gambet currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Moravian Academy and on the Board of Directors for the Association for Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges, and the Valley Youth House.
He is also an active member of a number of local and regional organizations including the United Way of Lehigh County; the Finance Committee of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown; the Lehigh Game Preserve Advisory Board; the Allentown Rotary and the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation.
Fr. Gambet has received many honors and accolades, including the Call-Chronicle Bowl for Outstanding Leadership in the 1985 United Way campaign (1997); the Distinguished Community Service Award from the Lehigh County Senior Citizens' Center (1997); the Jack P. Houlihan Community Service Award (1990) and the Sales and Marketing Executives Distinguished Citizen Award (1991). Rev. Gambet has received honorary degrees from Moravian College, Lafayette College and Lehigh University.
Kathryn Pelgrift Taylor is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania. From 1988-89, Ms. Taylor was employed by NYLCare, a subsidiary of New York Life, as Vice President Marketing and Product Development. She was responsible for new product development, marketing, sales training and market research for this managed health care company.
Prior to this, Ms. Taylor served for four years as Vice President, Strategic Planning for RCA Corporation. She first joined RCA in 1980 as Vice President Planning and Business Development for its subsidiary the National Broadcasting Company.
From 1977-1980, Ms. Taylor was with the Philip Morris Companies, where she served as Director of Finance for the parent company and later as Treasurer of Philip Morris USA. She began her business career on Wall Street as an Associate in the Corporate Finance Department at the First Boston Corporation (1968-1970). Subsequently, she was an Assistant Treasurer at International Paper Company (1970-1972) and was with CBS Inc. from 1972-1977 as Vice President Planning.
Ms. Taylor received her B.A. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She attended Wellesley College before transferring to UNC. She did graduate work at New York University Graduate School of Business Administration.
Ms. Taylor is currently a principal in Women Broadcasters, Inc., a company that develops radio stations and consults with potential investors in the radio station business. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and recently served as a trustee and treasurer of the Lutheran Home at Topton. She lives on the Muhlenberg College campus in Allentown, Pennsylvania with her husband, Arthur R. Taylor, President of the College.
David Masenheimer, originally from York, PA, graduated magna cum laude from Muhlenberg College with a bachelor's degree in art. He is currently performing in the Broadway production of "The Scarlet Pimpernel." Previous roles on Broadway include his performances as Inspector Javert in "Les Miserables," as Henry Ford in "Ragtime," and as Tod Browning in "Side Show." Masenheimer has also appeared in "Call Me Madam" with Tyne Daly and in "Out of This World" with Andrea Martin. Off-Broadway he has appeared in Hal Prince's production of "The Petrified Prince" at the New York Shakespeare Festival and in the musical "Eating Raoul."
Masenheimer's touring credits are equally impressive. He played Javert in the national touring company of "Les Miserables," performing in major venues across the United States and in Singapore. He was on the U.S. tour of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Aspects of Love" starring Sarah Brightman and played the role of Che in both U.S. and European productions of "Evita."
During his four years at Muhlenberg, Masenheimer lit up the stage in numerous theatrical performances. He appeared in the College's productions of "Tommy," "Cabaret," "Our Town," "Pirates of Penzance," "Spring Awakening," "Anything Goes," and "Guys and Dolls." He also performed in Muhlenberg Summer Theatre productions of "Candide," "The Mikado," "The Student Prince," "My Fair Lady," and "On the 20th Century."
When Masenheimer wasn't acting, he was serving as the technical director of the Muhlenberg Theatre Association or participating in the activities of his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon.
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