SRU honoring 5 distinguished alumni award recipients
A youth advocate, a CEO, a public schools assistant superintendent, an attorney and a Buddhist monk are among those being honored Friday, Oct. 23, as distinguished alumni of Slippery Rock University.
SRU will honor five alumni “whose professional accomplishments, community service and continued commitment to the university have made a lasting impact.” The alumni are: Larry Baxter, Eric Cunningham, Monica Lamar, Terry Shulsky and Claude AnShin Thomas.
“The 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients represent the high standards of achievement, character and service that have defined the award since it was established by the SRU Alumni Association in 1968,” Justin Zackal, SRU’s director of communications, said in a university news article.
Baxter, a 1975 graduate, spent much of his career serving vulnerable youth, families and older adults through social services, rehabilitation and advocacy. This includes working as a Dauphin County juvenile probation officer and aftercare specialist in his hometown of Harrisburg. He also served as director of prison reduction and as a prison counselor in the district attorney’s office.
Baxter retired in 2015 as the chief of the Elder Rights Bureau for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, where he held several positions providing services and resources to and for delinquent and at-risk Florida youth and their families.
Cunningham, a 1997 graduate and former member of SRU’s football team, is the CEO and founder of Green Cabbage, an international “procurement intelligence company” that serves more than 2,600 organizations across the world by “using agentic AI to accelerate and facilitate better deal outcomes, strengthen supplier negotiations and help clients make smarter procurement decisions,” according to the article. The company is headquartered in Cranberry Township and has offices in India, Singapore and London.
Lamar, class of 1995, is an assistant superintendent for K-5 and K-8 schools in Pittsburgh Public Schools, where she oversees school performance, instructional quality and support for principals across the district. She previously served as principal of Pittsburgh Dilworth PreK-5 for 15 years and has 20 years of experience as a principal.
Shulsky, a 1990 graduate, is an attorney with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC. Shulsky was a four-year letterman with The Rock football program and a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference scholar athlete.
Shulsky is a member of the board of directors for the Miracle League for Southwestern PA and the board of trustees of the Seneca Valley Foundation.
Thomas, class of 1974, is an author and ordained Zen Buddhist monk who founded the Zaltho Foundation and the Magnolia Zen Center, a nonprofit organization that “promotes peace and nonviolence in and among individuals, families and societies.”
Thomas served in the United States Army in Vietnam War, and, after being honorably discharged in 1968, enrolled at SRU. Thomas published his first book in 2004, “At Hell’s Gate — A Soldier’s Journey From War To Peace.”
“Throughout the period of his post-combat military service, he felt socially ostracized, suffering homelessness, drug addiction and unemployability. In 1991 he came in contact with Zen Buddhist practice, becoming awake to the devastating and lasting effects of war and how to make peace with this unpeacefulness,” the article said.
The honorees will be recognized at 7 p.m. Friday at the Russell Wright Alumni House on campus.
