University Presents Frank J. O’Hara Alumni Awards

The University of Scranton honored eight individuals with the Frank J. O’Hara Award at the University’s Reunion 2012 O’Hara Award Ceremony. This year’s recipients are James M. Basta of Tampa, Fla., class of 1961, posthumously received the award for government service; Lee A. DeHihns, III, Esq., of Marietta, Ga., class of 1967, received an award for law; Judith C. Dunn, Esq., of Arlington, Va., class of 1977, received an award for law; Mary Beth Hamorski, V.M.D., of Lebanon, N.J., class of 1982, received an award for medicine; James M. Kane, M.D., of South Barrington, Ill., class of 1946, received an award for medicine; Ellen Duggan Pappert of Plymouth Meeting, class of 1987, received the award for community service; Richard H. Passon, Ph.D., of Waverly, received the award for university service; and Francis G. Tracy of College Park, Md., class of 1952, received the award for education.
Basta
Following his graduation from Scranton, Basta entered the U.S. Army through the ROTC program, in which he was a distinguished military graduate and commissioned as a second lieutenant. After 24 years of active military service, which included tours of duty in Germany and Taiwan and three years in Vietnam, where he flew fixed-wing and helicopter aircraft, he retired as a lieutenant colonel.
During his career, he was awarded a number of
medals, including the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star,
two Purple Hearts, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal and Army Commendation
Medal.
Basta
settled in Tampa, Fla., where he was part of what eventually would become the
Joint Communications Support Element at MacDill Air Force Base. He later worked
as a civilian contractor until his retirement in 1999.
A Tampa resident for more than three decades,
Basta was a member of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association of Florida,
educating the public, especially children, on aviation and the Vietnam War. He
was instrumental in erecting the Vietnam War Memorial at Tampa’s Veterans
Memorial Park.
Basta
passed away on April 24, 2012, shortly after accepting the O’Hara Award.
DeHihns
DeHihns
is senior counsel at Alston & Bird, LLP, the largest law firm in Atlanta
and the 43rd largest in the nation. He is a member of the firm’s Environmental
& Land Development Group and co-chair of the group’s Climate &
Sustainability Team. He concentrates on regulatory and defensive litigation
matters, including climate change, white-collar criminal defense, air quality
and hazardous waste.
DeHihns
was chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy
and Resources (SEER) and is a SEER delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. For
the past six years, he has been recognized as a leading environmental lawyer in
“Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.”
In
1990, DeHihns joined Alston & Bird after serving four years as the deputy
regional administrator of United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
Region 4, the agency’s senior career position in the Southeast. His career
began with USEPA in 1974, where he rose to the position of associate general
counsel. DeHihns received a Senior Executive Service Meritorious Rank Award
from President Bush in 1989. He is also on the board of trustees for Marywood
University.
DeHihns
received his J.D. from The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of
Law.
Dunn
Dunn
is the senior vice president and principal deputy general counsel at Fannie
Mae, a financial services company that provides working families with access to
mortgage credit. She is responsible for the day-to-day management of all
aspects of Fannie Mae’s legal department with oversight over all legal matters,
including the single-family and multi-family legal groups, litigation, SEC
disclosure, mortgage-backed securitization and corporate governance.
Prior
to joining Fannie Mae, Dunn served as deputy chief counsel, operations, for the
Internal Revenue Service, where she supervised field attorneys, litigation and
a variety of regulatory matters. Dunn also served as deputy tax legislative
counsel for regulatory affairs at the U.S. Department of Treasury and was a
partner at Ropes & Gray where she practiced tax law.
An
active supporter of Catholic education, Dunn currently serves as vice chair of
the board of governors for Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Va. For
several years, she was a member of the board of regents for Arlington’s St.
Charles School.
After
graduating summa cum laude from Scranton, Dunn received her J.D. from Harvard
Law School.
A
native of Scranton, Dunn lives in Arlington.
Hamorski
Hamorski
is co-owner of Califon Animal Hospital, a companion/equine/small ruminant
practice in northwest New Jersey. After receiving her undergraduate degree cum
laude in biology from Scranton, she attended the University of Pennsylvania
School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 1986. Dr. Hamorski spends the
majority of her time as an ambulatory clinician, offering wellness care, field
surgery, digital radiography and ultrasound, endoscopy, and reproduction and
neonatal care to her patients.
Recently
honored at the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ annual meeting,
she received the Good Works Equitarian award for her 17-year commitment and
contributions to Mylestone Equine Rescue, which cares for abused and neglected
horses. She has served on its board since its inception.
Hamorski recently served eight years on the
executive board of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association and is
president of the New Jersey Association of Equine Practitioners. She enjoys
volunteering her time to the Somerset Hills Pony Club and mentoring pre-vet and
vet students.
Hamorski
and her family recently opened a 67-acre equestrian facility, Pinnacle Farm of
Califon, where they breed and show ponies.
Kane
After graduating from Scranton, Kane obtained his medical degree from Loyola University Medical School of Chicago. He subsequently received a master’s degree in pathology from Northwestern University two years later.
Following the Korean War, Kane served in the U.S.
Navy as a flight surgeon. He later returned to Chicago, completing his
residency in general surgery at Cook County Hospital.
During
his 45 years as a surgeon at four Chicago-area hospitals, Kane held several
leadership positions, serving as chief of surgery at three hospitals. He is a
board-certified surgeon, a fellow of the American College of Surgery, and a
founding member of the Bariatric Surgical Association.
Always
an innovator, he embraced practices long before their time, such as early
post-operative ambulation and primary colonic reanastomosis for diverticulitis.
He learned techniques of laparoscopic surgery at age 65, and continued to practice
until age 80.
Kane
is considered a pioneer in bariatric medicine, assisting in the development of
various procedures in bariatric surgery that culminated in the current standard
laparoscopic gastric bypass. He also developed the Kane Center for bariatric
and metabolic surgery.
A
native of Wilkes-Barre, Kane is an avid equestrian, having bred, raised and
shown horses.
Pappert
While attending Scranton, Pappert majored in business management and served as senior class president. After graduation, she worked in fundraising for Saint Joseph’s University, followed by several years in the municipal bond business in Philadelphia.
Following her wedding in 1997, Pappert and her husband,
Jerry, welcomed a daughter, Mary, in 1999 and a son, George, in 2003. In the
summer of 2006, George was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He died 18
months later, just eight days before his fifth birthday.
During
his illness, George received in-home care from a local hospice. After his
death, the Papperts learned that pediatric hospice care, which is often three
times more expensive than adult hospice care, is sometimes unavailable to
families for financial and other reasons. The family also came to understand
that fundraising and charitable contributions are primarily directed to finding
a cure for terminal illnesses, leaving hospice care often overlooked and
underfunded.
Determined
to address what they saw to be a crucial need, the Papperts established The
George Fund in 2008 to help families of terminally ill children obtain quality
hospice care, including clinical services, medication, creative arts therapies
and equipment. To date, The George Fund has raised nearly $600,000, providing
care and support for families throughout southeastern Pennsylvania.
Passon
During
his more than four decades in Catholic and Jesuit higher education, Passon
earned a reputation for promoting excellence both in the classroom and the
community.
Named
Scranton’s provost and vice president of academic affairs in 1984, the first provost
in the institution’s history, Passon served in that capacity for 15 years,
retiring in 2000, though continuing to teach English. His scholarly area of
expertise is British literature of the Restoration and 18th century.
Passon’s
tenure was a homecoming for the Hazleton native, having started his academic career
as an instructor in English at Scranton in 1964. In 1973, after having attained
the rank of professor and chairman of the University’s English Department,
Passon was named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Creighton
University in Omaha, Neb. After four years at Creighton, Passon was appointed
vice president for academic affairs at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia,
a post he held for seven years before returning to Scranton.
Passon
received his bachelor’s degree from King’s College, and his master’s and
doctorate degrees from the University of Notre Dame.
In
2001, Scranton named its chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta, the national honor
society for freshmen, in his honor.
Tracy
During
a four-decade career in education, Tracy rose from a junior high school English
and history teacher to a high-ranking administrative position in the 10th
largest school system in the country.
Before
his retirement, Tracy served as associate superintendent for supporting
services at Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, where he was
responsible for key operational elements for a school system that educated more
than 100,000 students each year. In addition, Tracy oversaw the system’s $100
million annual budget and managed several support functions, including
transportation, purchasing, property maintenance and food services.
From
1973-1988, Tracy served as principal at High Point High School in Beltsville,
Md., providing leadership for the largest high school in Prince George’s
County. He successfully guided the school’s 2,400 students, as well as 130
faculty members. During Tracy’s 15-year tenure, High Point yielded significant
annual improvements in Maryland’s functional test scores.
Earlier
in his career, Tracy spent 11 years as a junior high school principal in Bowie,
Md., and Hyattsville, Md. His professional achievements included instituting a
tutorial program with the University of Maryland and a counseling program for
disruptive and emotionally disruptive students.
Tracy
began his teaching career in 1954 as a junior high teacher in Glen Ridge, Md.,
and later served as the school’s assistant principal.