Gregory Olsen to Be Honored at Charter Day, PINNACLE Society to Induct Five Alumni

Fairleigh Dickinson University’s 21st Annual Charter Day on Friday, June 4, at the College at Florham, will honor alumnus Gregory Olsen, BS’66, BSEE’68, MS’68 (Metro), FDU trustee and president, GHO Ventures. The Charter Day reception begins at 7 p.m., followed by dinner at 8 p.m. The alumni PINNACLE Awards will be presented the same evening.

Charter Day honors individuals who have distinguished themselves as outstanding leaders in their professions and their communities. Proceeds from this event support academic scholarships for undergraduates at Fairleigh Dickinson. Charter Day Scholars are students who exhibit significant leadership on campus and in the larger community, who maintain the highest academic standards and show a personal commitment to developing the same leadership qualities Charter Day honorees have shown.

Gregory Olsen

Gregory Olsen was the third private citizen to orbit the earth on the International Space Station (ISS). After training for five months (900 hours) at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Moscow, he launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket TMA-7 on October 1, 2005. He then docked to the ISS on October 3, and returned to earth on Soyuz TMA-6 on October 11. He orbited the Earth more than 150 times and logged almost 4 million miles of weightless travel during his 10 days in space.

After an illustrious career as a research scientist and entrepreneur, Olsen is now president of GHO Ventures, Inc. in Princeton, N.J., where he manages his “angel” investments. He performs numerous speaking engagements to encourage children — especially minorities and young women — to consider careers in science and engineering.

Olsen serves as chair of the FDU NOW Campaign Steering Committee, and is active in many civic organizations including Trenton Big Brothers and Sisters, Trenton Boys and Girls Club, Trenton Soup Kitchen and the Princeton Historical Society. He is the author of By Any Means Necessary!: An Entrepreneur’s Journey Into Space.

PINNACLE Induction

The FDU PINNACLE Society will recognize the contributions and achievements of five distinguished alumni at a ceremony preceding the Charter Day reception and dinner.

This year’s PINNACLE honorees, pictured below from left are: Brenda Blackmon, BA’01 (Metro), co-anchor, My9, WWOR-TV; Rosemary Español, BA’70 (Flor), president and founder, IEI Group; David Knee, BA’88 (Flor), managing director, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc.; Myles Malman, Esq., BA’67 (Metro), managing director, Malman, Malman & Rosenthal; and Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf, BA’71 (Flor), chairman, Minnesota Vikings.

The annual class of The PINNACLE is chosen by past inductees, based on the following criteria: success or distinction in one’s chosen field of endeavor, significant contributions to society and humanity through public or humanitarian service and outstanding service to the University or reflection of the unique character of FDU in one’s life. The PINNACLE Society induction ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. at the College at Florham.

For more information and to register for Charter Day, visit http://www.myfdu.net/charterday10 .