The Simon Brute award is presented by the Mount St. Mary's National Alumni Association to a graduate who has rendered outstanding and meritorious service to the Church, state, nation and our fellow citizens. The medal is presented at the traditional Alumni Reunion Banquet held in the spring.
It is the highest honor awarded by the Association to a Mountaineer.
Established in 1971 by the National Alumni Association, the Mount St. Mary's Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes annually former athletes who "have exhibited athletic prowess of an outstanding nature in an intercollegiate sport." The late Monsignor John L. Sheridan, former president and star athlete on basketball and football teams, has the distinction of being the first person elected to membership in the Hall of Fame. Since that auspicious beginning, the Hall of Fame has inducted other former basketball and football standouts, as well as representatives from the baseball, cross country, boxing, soccer, track, tennis, lacrosse, decathlon, field hockey, softball and golf teams. The inductees also include one other former president, the late Dr. John J. Dillon, Jr., and several coaches and individuals who have made significant contributions to the athletic program. Three teams have been enshrined, notably the 1962 NCAA College Division Basketball Champions.
To make a nomination for the Mount Athletic Hall of Fame, please complete the nomination form and submit it to the Office of Alumni Engagement.
Mount Athletic Hall of Fame nomination form (.pdf) >
The Academic Circle of Excellence recognizes distinguished Mount alumni who are leaders in their communities or in their chosen profession, have received an undergraduate or graduate degree from the university at least 10 years ago, have actively supported the Mount since graduation (as a guest speaker or lecturer, committee member, donor) and who are ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and lead lives of significance in service to God and others.
Gregg Azcuy is president, executive officer, director and owner of Storage Engine, Inc. (SEI), a manufacturer of enterprise data storage solutions and secure cloud solutions for government and commercial markets. SEI’s innovation is focused on data storage technology that meets the demands of data requiring the highest levels of performance and security. SEI provides a broad range of interoperability with data storage solutions that include extremely high-performance, fault-tolerant, storage-technology solutions with industry leading, low-latency and resiliency for on-premises, hybrid and cloud secure solutions. Storage Engine, Inc. has contracts that require US Department of Defense Facility Clearance (FCL).
Gregg has experience with public and private enterprises as well as practical business, legal and vast technology experience. Previously Gregg was international marketing manager for Hitachi Data Systems International. He has 33 years of experience in data storage solutions; including planning, product development, engineering, competitive analysis, sales strategies, sales management, support services, growth and product positioning. Gregg gained his knowledge of peripheral, processor, software and connectivity markets in various capacities while with Hitachi Data Systems International, System Industries, and Olivetti Corporation. Gregg is a very skilled IT executive familiar with all aspect of management and successful enterprise growth. He has presented at many conferences and has appeared on live broadcasts for Bloomberg News among other media outlets.
Since July 2016, he is a trustee of Hackensack Meridian Health, a health system parent organization with 17 hospitals, 34,000 employees, 10,000 physicians and $5.5 billion in revenue, and is chairman of the Hackensack Meridian Health IT and Data Governance Committee.
From 2009-16 he was a trustee of Meridian Health, a health system parent corporation with eight hospitals and many affiliated companies and organizations. He also served as chairman of the Meridian Ad Hoc Technology Committee from 2013-16. He was a prior trustee of Meridian Hospital Corporation – a not-for-profit hospital group. In addition, he was a trustee of the Count Basie Theatre (CBT) – a (501C) not-for-profit theatre located in Red Bank, New Jersey, chairman of the CBT Governance Committee and member of the Count Basie Audit Committee from 2002 to 2009 and Community Outreach - Rumson, New Jersey. This organization provides direct funding and support, principally, to Monmouth County-based 501C organizations serving human needs and human development from 2002-06.
Gregg holds degrees in business and finance from Mount St. Mary’s University and attended the Executive Program, Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.
As a Mount student, Gregg served as a resident assistant, Student Government Association vice president, IDC/student court representative, a member of the Pre-law Society, instructor for free university, Ring Committee chair, was an outstanding student-athlete, and recipient of the Kevin J. Carty Memorial Award. Upon graduation, he has tirelessly given his time, talent and treasure to his alma mater and can always be found at alumni events in New Jersey and Emmitsburg supporting the university and our alumni association.
Gregg resides in Rumson, New Jersey with his wife, Dr. Mary Kate Azcuy, professor, and has two married daughters and three grandchildren.
Dr. William Beierschmitt, C’80, received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Mount St. Mary’s University in 1980, and his doctorate in toxicology from the University of Maryland in 1986. After completing three years of post-doctoral training at the University of Connecticut Toxicology Program, he joined Pfizer’s Drug Safety Research and Development group in Groton, Connecticut, beginning a 30-year career as a toxicologist in the pharmaceutical industry until his recent retirement in August, 2018. Subsequently, Bill became a founding partner and expert toxicologist with D & B ChemTox, a consulting firm specializing in the risk assessment of chemical impurities in pharmaceutical products, a position he currently holds.
During his 30-year career at Pfizer, Bill held a number of scientific positions of increasing responsibility and scope in both early- and late-stage drug development. Bill was the preclinical toxicology author for more than 20 Investigational New Drug Applications (INDs) to support the initial clinical testing of potential therapeutic candidates, and a contributor to three successful New Drug Applications (NDAs) to support the marketing of a new pharmaceutical product. He was a member of several external scientific consortia that developed recommendations and guidance documents pertaining to the use of novel excipients in pharmaceutical formulations, and the safety of various impurities in pharmaceutical products including metals, solvents, and those that leach into parenteral products from packaging.
Recognized for his expertise in impurities in pharmaceutical formulations, Bill founded Global Risk Assessment Services in 2006, a group composed primarily of toxicologists who provide chemical risk assessment support for impurity-related matters for Pfizer’s Research and Development operations, and all their manufacturing sites worldwide. Thus, given this scope of operations, the Global Risk Assessment Services group helped to support the safety and quality of Pfizer’s entire research and marketed pharmaceutical portfolio.
Bill is a Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology, and a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. He is a member of a number of professional scientific organizations, including the Society of Toxicology and the American College of Toxicology, where he has held a number of elected positions during his years of affiliation with them. He has written several book chapters, as well as published a number of articles in peer reviewed journals, one of which was selected by the Society of Toxicology for its annual best publication award, a manuscript dealing with mechanisms of acetaminophen (Tylenol) hepatotoxicity.
Since 2010, Bill has been a member of the Board of Advisors for the School of Natural Science and Mathematics at Mount St. Mary’s University. In this capacity, he has been particularly supportive of the summer research internship program, believing such experiences form the very foundation for a student to more fully develop their potential as an independent scientist. Bill and his wife Michelle are supporters of a number of local and national charities, believing strongly in the concept of giving back. Bill, Michelle and their family reside in and around Waterford, Connecticut.
Daniel F. Curtin, C’64, is currently a consultant for Catholic Education, Office of Catholic Schools, at the Diocese of Arlington and serving as an adjunct instructor in the School of Education, Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia. He also serves as chair of the Mount St. Mary’s Seminary Rector’s Council.
Previously, he was the first lay principal of a Brothers of Holy Cross high school in the United States – Mackin Catholic High School in Washington, D.C. – where he spent 21 years as a teacher, administrator and principal. He was appointed to the personal staff of the late James Cardinal Hickey, Archbishop of Washington as his Secretary for Catholic Education for 14 years. He spent 12 years as executive director of the Department of Chief Administrators of Catholic Education (CACE) at the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA). Dan served for six months as acting president of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, C.C., with the task of merging four Catholic high schools into one co-educational high school at Archbishop Carroll. He served on several boards of directors for Catholic schools operated by the Brothers of Holy Cross and the Archdiocese of Washington. For 12 years, he served as a member and chair of the Board of Trustees at Mount St. Mary’s University as well as on numerous committees of the Mount’s board, for both the university and seminary.
Dan is the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree from Mount St. Mary’s University and Seminary, and two Papal Awards for service to the Catholic Church and Catholic education. In addition to earning a Mount degree in 1964, he earned a master’s degree in educational administration from George Mason University (1976). He was always eager to learn more about American history and in particular, American Catholic history and its influence on American society throughout the years earning a Master of Arts degree in American history from the University of Notre Dame (1983).
He is grateful for the loving support of his wonderful sister, Joanie Candee, whose late husband, Harry Candee, was a member of the Mount Class of 1963. Dan is forever in debt to the Mount for accepting him as a student and forming him as a Catholic man with great confidence to serve others through the ministry of Catholic education.
Dan’s favorite Mont memories are the happy years spent as a Mount student and alum, and his association with outstanding priests and faculty members who instilled in him and others, the true meaning of being a Catholic gentleman, in caring service to others. He is truly humbled by this recognition from a place he dearly loves and serves.
Rev. John Dietrich, S’92, graduated from the University of St. Thomas/St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, Texas in 1988, with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy. He attended Mount St. Mary’s Seminary from 1988 to 1992 and was ordained on April 24, 1993, for the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut.
In 2005, Dietrich received a master’s degree in Christian spirituality from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. In 2006, he received his certification for spiritual direction and directed retreats.
From May 1993 to January 1995, Dietrich was parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Naugatuck, Connecticut. He served as director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, from January 1996 to August 2001.
For the next six months, he served as the assistant spiritual director at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. In 2002, he became the director of spiritual formation at the Mount. He was extremely popular among the seminarians as a spiritual director. He never said “no” to a seminarian even if it meant many long hours meeting with them. He heard confessions every day in IC chapel starting at 6:30 a.m. and regularly assisted both lay people and priests from outside the Mount in their spiritual growth. He gave spiritual conferences every other week, taught several sacramental practica courses, and provided an elective on Christian spirituality. He is known by an entire generation of seminarians as their spiritual father. Dietrich returned to the Archdiocese of Hartford in 2018 and is currently the pastor at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Forestville, Connecticut.
Dietrich spent a summer in Guatemala for a Spanish immersion program and regularly celebrated Mass in Spanish here at the seminary and in local parishes. He is also a faithful donor to the Seminary’s Annual Fund and was very generous of his time, talent, and treasure to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
P. Dan Healey, C’94, is the head of human resources for SAP North America, providing HR leadership across the region, and leading the HR business partner organization. In this trusted-advisor role, he provides consultation and delivery of HR solutions that ensure SAP’s people strategy and programs meet the needs of the region’s more than 24,000 employees. Dan joined SAP in 1998 and spent most of his career as an HR business partner in the global HR delivery and North America HR organizations. Most recently, he was vice president of human resources supporting North America’s digital business services while also leading HR for services sales. He has supported client groups in license sales, presales, operations, global services sales and delivery consulting.
Dan earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Mount St. Mary’s University and was a member of the tennis team. After graduation, he served in Papua New Guinea for two years for the Jesuit Volunteers. Afterward, while working at Villanova University, he earned his master’s degree in human resources development.
He also earned an MBA in technology and e-commerce from West Chester University. Dan and his wife, Jennifer (nee Plott, C’93), have three children and live outside of Philadelphia. During his free time, Dan enjoys spending time with his family, watching his kids’ sports and dance activities, reading, jogging and supporting the American Red Cross and other organizations committed to improving people’s lives.
Dan is extremely knowledgeable about tech, globalism, AI, big data, its use and misuse, and the need for ethical decision making in our high tech world. He speaks eloquently about his life’s journey and how much the Catholic liberal arts education he received at the Mount, and specific people at the Mount contributed to and supported that journey.
The purpose of this award is to recognize a young alumnus/a, who, through hard work, perseverance and education have reached a high level of achievement in their chosen professions. The award also honors graduates who have brought honor and distinction to their Alma Mater by their success, interest and support of the Mount through the National Alumni Association. This award is to be presented at the Hall of Fame Brunch during Winter Homecoming.
Established in 1999, this award, named in honor and memory of the Most Reverend James E. Walsh, Prep Class of 1906 and College Class of 1910, is presented by the National Alumni Association to an alumnus/a who has rendered outstanding service to Mount St. Mary's University and Seminary and his/her community. It is the intent of the association that the award is presented in conjunction with a chapter or regional alumni event.
Cape Fear Chapter Kickoff, North Carolina -- April 27, 2019
Philadelphia Chapter's Boathouse Row Event - November 17, 2018
Mount St. Mary’s University 2017
Connecticut Chapter Golf Reception - July 9, 2013
New York Chapter Reception - January 12, 2013
Philadelphia Chapter Reception - May 22, 2010
Connecticut Alumni Chapter Loyalty Luncheon - November 8, 2008
Delaware Alumni Chapter Reception - October 12, 2005
Philadelphia Chapter Reception - November 11, 2004
New York Chapter Reception - October 30, 2003
Boston Chapter Fall Reception - October 8, 2002
Washington Chapter Reception - March 15, 2001
Alumni Reunion Weekend - June 1, 2001
Northern California Chapter Dinner - February 18, 2000
Boston Chapter Reception - November 10, 1999
Presented annually by the National Alumni Association at the Seminary Alumni Reunion Dinner to a Mountaineer priest for outstanding service to the Mission of the Church.
The Pride of the Mount Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to Mount St. Mary's over the years through personal generosity of their resources, time and talent. Awardees represent the very best of American philanthropy and embody the very spirit of the Mount.