The 2026 Frank J. O'Hara Distinguished Alumni Award Honorees
The Frank J. O'Hara Distinguished Alumni Award is a prestigious annual award presented by the University and its Alumni Society. The award honors select alumni who embody Scranton's Catholic, Jesuit experience and who have achieved distinction in their professional or personal endeavors. Honorees are selected based on the nominees' commitment to Ignatian values and their pursuit of professional and personal excellence. The award was established in 1981 to honor the memory of Frank J. O'Hara, past administrator, who served The University of Scranton for over 53 years.
Christine Blazynski, Ph.D. '76
Patricia Byrnes Clarke '86, P'17, '19
Thomas J. Gibbons '96, G'99 (in memoriam)
Christine Blazynski, Ph.D. '76
Christine Blazynski, Ph.D., was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, graduated from Notre Dame High School in Moylan, Pennsylvania, and then earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from The University of Scranton in 1976. As an undergraduate, she was awarded membership in both the Phi Lambda Epsilon and Alpha Sigma Nu societies. During Christine’s time at the University, she developed a keen interest in research, especially focusing on how neural signals are perceived, transduced, and transmitted; this interest led to her decision to pursue a doctoral program at Purdue University, which she completed in 1981. Her thesis research centered on the molecular basis of how the visual protein that detects light, rhodopsin, initiates molecular events upon activation that ultimately produce an electrical signal in the brain. While at Purdue, she met and married her spouse, Daniel L. Hartl, Ph.D.
Christine continued her academic training as a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and was eventually hired as an assistant professor with a primary appointment in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and secondary appointments in the departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Anatomy and Neurobiology.
In 1993, Christine moved east to the Boston area. With a young child starting at a new school, she took a short break to consider career opportunities and embarked on a career in competitive market intelligence for drug and clinical trial development. She enjoyed her years working for Decision Resources (now called Clarivate PLC) as a Director of New Product Development, followed by a fortuitous transition into start-up space with the virtual company Citeline as Vice President of Product Development and Editorial Operations. Citeline was acquired three years later by Informa PLC, then an FTSE 100 company, and she was asked to stay on as Senior Vice President and Chief Science Officer. Primarily due to the success of Citeline, Informa grew into a FTSE 50 company that was at the time among the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Christine, now retired, presently resides with her husband in Belmont, Massachusetts. Their grown children have homes encompassing nine time zones, which makes scheduling video chats a challenge.
Patricia Clarke '86, P'17, '19
Patricia A. Clarke is a business leader, executive coach, and trusted advisor with more than 35 years of experience guiding leaders and organizations as they navigate growth, transformation, and complexity.
Recently retired from corporate leadership, Patti is founder of Clarke Coaching & Consulting, where she advises and coaches senior leaders and organizations, drawing on decades of executive experience and her training in the Co-Active coaching model. Her work focuses on helping people lead with greater clarity, courage, and impact while aligning performance with human potential.
Most recently, Patti served as Global Chief People Experience Officer at Havas, where she was a strategic partner to the Global CEO and senior leadership team, leading talent and organizational strategy across a 23,000+ employee global network. Prior to Havas, she held senior executive leadership roles at Dun & Bradstreet, where she built a distinguished reputation at the intersection of business strategy, talent, and transformation.
Across every chapter of her professional life, Patti has been deeply committed to inclusion, the advancement of women, and mentoring the next generation of leaders. She has sponsored and advocated for women’s growth and leadership, mentored many early-career professionals and rising leaders, and helped others navigate defining moments in their personal and professional journeys. This commitment also informs her growing focus on expanding access to coaching and leadership development for women with limited access to opportunity.
A proud graduate of The University of Scranton, Patricia has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to the University and its mission. She served two terms on the University’s Board of Trustees, was Co-Chair of the President’s Business Council, and has been an engaged supporter of the Kania School of Management and its mission to develop principled leaders. In recognition of her commitment to the University, she received the President’s Medal in 2022.
Patti is widely respected for her strategic leadership, generosity of spirit, and dedication to helping individuals and organizations grow and thrive.
Thomas J. Gibbons '96, G'99 in memoriam
TBD
Dcn. James J. Knipper '81
Jim Knipper graduated from The University of Scranton with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1981, and in 1984, he received a master’s in business administration specializing in the pharmaceutical industry from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He received a master’s in theology from Georgian Court University in May of 2015 and an honorary degree from that institution in May 2017. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of The University of Scranton and currently is the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at Georgian Court University.
After a successful career as CEO of J. Knipper and Company, he is an author and publisher of spirituality books through his company, Clear Faith Publishing LLC.
He splits his time between Marco Island, FL, and Princeton, NJ. He has four sons and seven grandchildren. Recently retired as a deacon, he is a member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Princeton.
Lawrence R. Lynch '81, H'22
Lawrence R. Lynch spent 39 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), serving 26 of those years as a partner. At PwC, Lawrence provided assurance, accounting and advisory services covering both domestic and international companies. Lawrence was a member of PwC’s Financial Services Practice for over 20 years, where he focused primarily on the insurance industry covering, life, property and casualty, financial guaranty, credit and reinsurance sectors. His clients included Armed Forces Benefits Association, AIG, AXA, Chubb, CIGNA, Lincoln Financial, Penn Mutual, Radian, Munich Re and Swiss Re. In addition to his experience in the Financial Services practice, Lawrence served clients in multiple industry segments including Bristol Myers Squibb, DuPont, IBM, Kodak, Sanofi and SONY Corporation. In the US, Lawrence served in the New York and Philadelphia offices. In Europe, he spent 8 years in Paris, where he led PwC’s Global Capital Markets Group in France supporting clients with their capital raising efforts and related regulatory filings. In addition to his client service responsibilities at PwC, his roles also included serving on the Partner Admissions Committee, as a Human Resources Partner and as a Risk Management Partner.
In addition to his professional services experience, Lawrence served as chair of the Board of Trustees at The University of Scranton, where he oversaw the revision of the board committee’s structures, charters, and responsibilities. Lawrence also chaired the Board of Marymount International School of Paris. Lawrence's other board responsibilities have included Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, the Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the International Insurance Foundation. Lawrence currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Financial Group, the Armed Forces Benefits Association and the Board of Trustees of Holy Family University.
Lawrence is a CPA actively licensed in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He is also the recipient of PwC’s Chairman’s Client Service Award in recognition of outstanding client service, The University of Scranton’s Accounting Department Leadership Award and its Accounting and Auditing Research Award associated with advancing the curriculum of the University’s accounting program. Lawrence holds an undergraduate degree and a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, from The University of Scranton. He also attended Middlebury College’s French Language School.
Elizabeth A. Madden '96
Elizabeth is the founder and managing member of Compass Advisors & Coaching, where she combines executive coaching and HR advisory services to support senior leaders and high-impact organizations. With more than 25 years of experience spanning Goldman Sachs, Davidson Kempner, and her own consultancy, she brings deep expertise in leadership development, talent strategy, organizational transformation, and employee engagement.
As a dedicated alumna, Elizabeth has been deeply engaged with The University of Scranton for over two decades. She is a founding member of the President’s Business Council (PBC), previously served as Vice Chair, and currently serves as Chair. In these roles, she has helped shape the PBC’s mission and programming, including renewed emphasis on mentorship, internships, and philanthropy, to open doors for Scranton students. In 2025, Elizabeth was appointed as a University Trustee, extending her service and commitment to the institution in a new leadership capacity.
Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from The University of Scranton and a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from New York University. She is a Certified Executive Coach through Columbia University’s Teachers College and holds additional certifications in several coaching assessment tools.
She resides in New Jersey with her husband, Michael Madden ’95, and their two children. Beyond her professional work and service to the University, she remains committed to helping aspiring Royals grow and succeed.
Justin B. Murphy '76
Justin Murphy had a distinguished law enforcement career in which he served for more than 37 years at the local, state, and federal levels. He began his federal service with the FBI in 1976 and concluded his government career as Senior Law Enforcement Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, serving during two presidential administrations.
Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Justin was responsible for coordinating the Justice Department’s liaison efforts with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the development and implementation of the National Law Enforcement Information Sharing Plan.
Prior to rejoining the federal government, Justin served 20 years with the Fairfax County Police Department, retiring with the rank of Major. During his tenure, he held command positions in each of the Department’s bureaus and retired as the Department’s third-ranking officer.
After retiring from Fairfax County, Justin held several senior leadership positions in the private sector with major systems integration firms serving the law enforcement community. His final position before rejoining the Department of Justice was as a Vice President for Science Applications International Corporation, where he served as account executive for the Department of Justice and also oversaw mergers and acquisitions for the company’s Integrated Security Solutions business units.
Justin has lectured at international conferences for the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as for numerous professional organizations.
Justin is married to Liz Altemus Murphy, Class of 1983, and they reside in Southport, NC. They are the proud parents of a daughter and son-in-law and delighted grandparents of their granddaughter.
James M. Slattery '86, H'23
A certified public accountant, Jim Slattery is a co- founder & Head of North America for Rosebank Industries PLC, a London-based company that buys, improves and sells companies that engage in the manufacture of highly engineered products. Prior to co-founding Rosebank, Jim had a similar role at Melrose PLC. Prior to Melrose, he was the chief financial officer for McKechnie Aerospace. Previously, he served as CFO for 180s, Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse and DAP Products, Inc., and as controller for Wassall PLC. He began his career with Coopers and Lybrand.
Jim earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from The University of Scranton and served as the Chair of the University’s Board of Trustees from 2019-2022 and as a Board of Trustees member from 2015-2022. He and his wife, Betsy, established the University’s Gail and Francis Slattery Center for the Ignatian Humanities, named in honor of his parents who instilled in him a commitment to Catholic higher education.
Jim has recently been named to the Board of Governors for the Rooted in Christ-Growing in Faith Capital Campaign for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Jim also serves as the Chair of the Board of Advisors for the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education at Santa Clara University. He and Betsy are the proud parents of Daniel, John Michael and Shane, and they reside in Atlanta, GA.