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Mary Stengel Austen ’86, Donald E. Morel ’79, and S. Kent Rockwell ’66 were elected to the Board of Trustees May 22 and will begin five-year terms July 1. Austen is president and CEO of Tierney Communications in Philadelphia, Pa. Morel is chairman and CEO of West Pharmaceutical Services in Lionville, Pa. Rockwell is chairman & CEO of Rockwell Venture Capital Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pa. Retiring trustees S. Robert Beane ’58 and George F. Rubin ’64 were elected to emeritus status. Alan R. Griffith ’64, chair of the board, recognized Beane and Rubin at the 174th Commencement May 23.
Also leaving the board is Douglas Marvin ’69, who is concluding a five-year term as alumni trustee.
Austen was one of three founding members of The Tierney Group, the firm that was the precursor to Tierney Communications, a full-service public relations, marketing, and advertising firm. With billings in excess of $150 million, Tierney is one of the mid-Atlantic region’s largest communications agencies. Austen provides strategic counsel to clients in many industries, including brands such as Bayer, Independence Blue Cross, Lincoln Financial Group, McDonald’s, PECO, 6-ABC, TD Bank, and Verizon Wireless.
Austen serves on the following boards: Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital (vice chair), Main Line Health, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Philadelphia’s Please Touch Museum, Steppingstone Scholars, Inc., and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (chair of the chamber’s Membership Services Committee and a member of the Executive Committee). Austen is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and the Forum of Executive Women.
Austen has been chosen as the 2009 Woman of Heart honoree by the American Heart Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania for her efforts in raising sponsorship dollars and awareness for the Go Red For Women campaign. In 2005, Austen was the recipient of the Spirit of Life Award, City of Hope’s most prestigious honor presented to community leaders who have made a significant commitment to those in need. The Spirit of Life Award honorees are selected for their notable contributions to the community in which they live and the profession in which they work. In 2004, the Philadelphia Business Journal recognized Austen as one of Philadelphia area’s “Women of Distinction.” There were only 25 women who received this honor. In 2002, Philadelphia Business Journal recognized her with its 40 Under 40 Award, given to “40 rising stars based on their professional accomplishments and their commitment to the community.”
Austen received a B.A. with majors in English and government & law in 1986. A member of the Lafayette Leadership Council, Austen has been generous in sharing her expertise with Lafayette students through internships and externships. She also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees’ Committee on External Affairs.
In addition to an active professional life, Austen and her husband, Peter, have five young children and live in Radnor, Pa.
Morel joined West Pharmaceutical Services in 1992 as director of research and development and held various leadership roles until becoming president and chief operating officer in 2001. He has been the company’s chairman since March 2003 and chief executive officer since April 2002. West Pharmaceutical Services makes components used in drug packaging and medical devices, such as syringes and IV systems.
Upon completion of his graduate education, Morel joined the Government Aerospace Systems Division of Harris Corporation, where he served three years as a staff engineer and as group leader of materials engineering. He taught undergraduate courses in materials science and performed research on deformation mechanisms in semicrystalline polymers at Cornell University.
Morel has authored or co-authored over 30 publications dealing with metal matrix composites, space environment effects on materials, and polymer mechanical behavior. He has served on the editorial board of Applied Physics Communications and as a reviewer for Journal of Materials Engineering.
In 1989, Morel was selected as a finalist for training as a mission specialist by NASA’s Astronaut Office. He has served on several NASA scientific advisory committees including the SPACECRAFT 2000 Workshop to prioritize spacecraft materials research efforts.
Morel received a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from Lafayette in 1979 and an M.S. and Ph.D. in materials science from Cornell University. He is a member of the Lafayette Leadership Council and has mentored students as an internship and externship host. He also has spoken on campus on bioengineering topics.
Morel serves as a trustee of The Franklin Institute and is a director of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and the Philadelphia World Affairs Council. In 2006, he was elected a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Rockwell has been chairman and CEO of Rockwell Venture Capital, Inc. since 1983. He operates or invests in a variety of businesses under the auspices of the company including Rockwell Forest Products Inc. (since 1983), Strata Products Worldwide, a coal mining services company (since 1988), and Pro Grass, LLC. Pro Grass, a synthetic turf company, installs 70 to 100 fields per year. Most recently, his company has acquired the Ex One Company LLC., a global metallurgical engineering enterprise based in Irwin, Pa.
He recently retired from Argon ST as vice chairman and vice president for corporate development, although he remains affiliated with the company as director (since 1987). Argon ST manufactures electronic intelligence, communications, and imaging systems for government and military applications. A former chairman, CEO, and president of Astrotech International Corporation, where he served from 1986 to 1997, and SensysTech as chairman and CEO from 1998 through 2005, he also served on the board of Rockwell International Inc. from 1973 to 1983.
Rockwell received a B.A. with majors in economics and business from Lafayette in 1966 and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Rockwell served on the Lafayette Leadership Council and a previous term as a Lafayette Trustee from 1971-75. He established the S. Kent Rockwell ’66 Scholarship Fund to provide financial aid to Marquis Scholars. His father, Willard, through the Rockwell Foundation, established the unrestricted Rockwell Foundation Scholarship Fund.