Association with the Presidential Scholars program lasts far beyond the medallion ceremony in Washington, D.C. It is a lifelong honor that
combines ongoing friendships built during National Recognition Week with a supportive alumni community that stretches across over 40 classes of scholars throughout the nation and the world.

Presidential Scholars have become CEOs, professors, artists, stage & screen stars, leading medical doctors, world-renowned scientists, award-winning journalists, successful attorneys, and community leaders. Scholars have written hundreds of books and been granted countless patents. Our alumni have also been honored with fellowships, awards, and prizes such as the Pulitzer Prize, Rhodes Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship, and Fulbright grant.

Below, find a sampling of profiles of some of our distinguished alumni.

	Richard Alley - 1976 Scholar As a high school student in Worthington, Ohio, Richard Alley enjoyed both his English and science classes. Since being named one of Ohio's Presidential Scholars in 1976, he has combined these loves as a distinguished professor of geosciences at Pennsylvania State University. Alley is one of the world's leading climate scientists. His renowned research using Greenland ice cores has revolutionized our understanding of abrupt climate change, a subject popularized in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow." Alley's acclaimed book on abrupt climate change, "The Two-Mile Time Machine," won the 2001 Phi Beta Kappa Book Award in Science. He is also the winner of numerous teaching, research and professional awards - most recently, the American Geophysical Union's 2007 Roger Revelle medal, which recognizes "outstanding contributions in atmospheric sciences ... climate, or related aspects of the Earth system." (Photo taken by PhD student Todd Johnston, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska.)
	Mitch Daniels - 1967 Scholar Perhaps when Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels visited the White House as a 1967 Presidential Scholar from Indiana, it whetted his appetite for a political career. After earning a bachelor's degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and then his J.D. from Georgetown Law School, Daniels served as a senior advisor to President Reagan, worked as a senior executive at Eli Lilly and Company, and was eventually appointed head of the Office of Management and Budget, where President George W. Bush nicknamed him "The Blade" for his commitment to protect tax-payers from excessive government spending. In 2003 Daniels resigned to return to Indiana and run - successfully - for Governor.
	Suzette Charles DeGaetano - 1981 Scholar Just three years after being named New Jersey's Presidential Scholar in 1981, Suzette Charles DeGaetano claimed another national honor - the title of Miss America 1984. An accomplished singer who had appeared in commercials and educational TV programs, Charles swept the talent competition. After her service touring the nation as Miss America, Charles continued her musical career, performing with Bill Cosby, Stevie Wonder, Lou Rawls, Alan King, and Joel Grey.
	Rita Dove - 1970 Scholar When poet Rita Dove was named Ohio's Presidential Scholar in 1970, she surely didn't know it was only the first of many national academic and literary honors. She served as Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995 and was reappointed Special Consultant in Poetry for 1999/2000. She has received numerous literary and academic honors, among them the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the 1996 Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities, the 1996 National Humanities Medal, the 2001 Duke Ellington Lifetime Achievement Award in the Literary Arts, and the 2006 Common Wealth Award for Distinguished Service. Rita Dove lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband Fred Viebahn and her daughter Aviva.
	Kristin Forbes – 1988 Scholar In 1988, Kristin Forbes was honored by President Reagan as New Hampshire’s Presidential Scholar; in 2003, she returned to Washington as President Bush’s appointee to the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), and its youngest member ever. Previously, at age 30, she’d served as the U.S. Treasury Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Quantitative Policy Analysis and Latin American and Caribbean Nations. After two years on the CEA, Dr. Forbes returned to her full-time post as associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. This economist is the author of numerous articles and co-editor of the book, “International Financial Contagion”. In 2005 Forbes was named a "Young Global Leader" as part of the World Economic Forum at Davos.
	Sallie Krawcheck - 1983 Scholar In 1983, Sallie Krawcheck was named South Carolina’s Presidential Scholar; in 2004 Fortune.com ranked her seventh among the 10 most powerful women in business. Krawcheck became one of the top research analysts covering Wall Street during her tenure as CEO at the independent research firm Sanford C. Bernstein, where she earned a reputation as a vocal advocate of research quality and integrity. She was later recruited by financial-services firm Citigroup to head Smith Barney, which handles stock-research and retail-brokerages operations, before being tapped as Citigroup's Citigroup Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy. After three years in that position, she now serves as Chairman and CEO for Citi Global Wealth Management.
	Desmond Richardson - 1986 Scholar Just eight years after he took the stage at the Kennedy Center as a Presidential Scholar from New York, the New York Times hailed Desmond Richardson as “one of the great modern dancers of his time.” Richardson served as a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Frankfurt Ballet, and the American Ballet Theatre, creating the title role in the world premiere of “Othello.” This master of dance forms from classical to contemporary has performed with the Swedish Opera Ballet, the Washington Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, and the San Francisco Ballet. Broadway credits include “The Look of Love,” “Movin’ Out,” and “Fosse,” for which he earned a 1999 Tony Award nomination. TV, video and film appearances with talents like Michael Jackson, Prince, Elton John, Madonna, and Aretha Franklin include 2002’s Oscar-winning hit “Chicago.” Co-Founder/ Co-Artistic Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Richardson also teaches dance throughout the U.S. and abroad.
	Charles E. Shepard - 1972 Scholar The Presidential Scholars program seeks out and rewards academic rigor, and journalist Charles Shepard was honored for this as Connecticut's Scholar in 1972. As a reporter for The Charlotte Observer, Shepard tirelessly investigated and reported on televangelist Jim Bakker's misuse of funds and deceptive practices, even as the PTL television ministry sought to discredit his work and pressure his newspaper to remain silent. As a result of Shepard's reporting, Bakker and three associates were imprisoned for fraud, and in 1988 the Observer was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service. The next year Shepard published "Forgiven: The Rise and Fall of Jim Bakker and the PTL Ministry," a biography of Bakker.