WASHINGTON, PA (Oct. 24, 2011)—The chief of neonatology at Magee Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the founder and owner of an independent marketing firm that raises money for investment and private equity partnerships, and an anesthesiology resident at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UMPC) were honored by their alma mater Oct. 21.
Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) presented Gary Silverman, M.D., Ph.D., class of 1978, with the Distinguished Service Award; Charles Eaton, class of 1964, with the Alumni Achievement Award, and Kristin Ondecko Ligda, M.D., class of 2003, with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award at its annual Homecoming and Reunion Weekend Oct. 21-22.
“W&J is proud to recognize this prestigious group of alumni who have made such a significant impact in their respective fields,” said Sarah Sperry, associate director of alumni relations at W&J.
At Magee Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Silverman oversees the medical care provided to high-risk newborns admitted to the hospitals’ neonatal intensive care units and directs clinical research and medical education programs. Additionally, Silverman serves as an endowed professor of pediatrics, cell biology and physiology at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. Silverman holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from W&J and an M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
Eaton is the founder and owner of C.P. Eaton Partners, LLC, whose investors include more than 200 of the largest and best-known institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Under Eaton’s leadership, more than $24 billion has been raised for 50 funds. Eaton began his career as an investment research officer at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company and eventually worked his way up Wall Street, becoming a partner at H.C. Wainwright & Company, the top institutional research firm in the U.S. An economics major at W&J, he was a member of the football team and Phi Gamma Delta. After graduating from W&J, he served three years in the U.S. Army before earning his master’s in business administration degree at Columbia University. Eaton is a former member of the W&J Board of Trustees and active in his hometown chapters of The United Way and A Better Chance.
Prior to arriving at UPMC, Ligda was a resident at the Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) School of Medicine under the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship for Graduate Study, which provided her with $50,000 per year toward her medical degree. At VCU, she was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, a medical honor society. As an intern at VCU, Ligda was named MVP for Internal Medicine Residency for her outstanding performance. Ligda holds a bachelor’s in biology and Spanish from W&J, where she was a presidential scholar and member of Alpha Phi Omega.\
The Distinguished Service Award is presented to alumni or friends of the college who have distinguished themselves through unparalleled loyalty and service to the College. The Outstanding Young Alumni Award is presented to an alumnus or alumna who is within 15 years of his or her graduating class and who has made a significant contribution either to his or her chosen field, community and/or the College. Presented since 2001, the Alumni Award for Achievement is given to an alumnus or alumna who has reached the pinnacle of his or her chosen field and through this achievement has brought recognition to the College.
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