A management professor and two alumni have been named as recipients of Miami University Alumni Association 2020 Advancement Awards. The awards honor Miamians who have made a difference to the university, their community or society as a whole.

Megan Gerhardt was named as the Dave Roberts Award winner. The award recognizes a Miami faculty or staff member who consistently goes beyond the expectations of his or her role in service to the Division of University Advancement. Established in 1995, the award was named for a member of Miami’s Physical Facilities Department who made extraordinary contributions to the division and the Alumni Association.

“I’ve learned so much through my collaborations with University Advancement, especially from the opportunities to engage with our amazing alumni. As faculty members, we see our students as they are just beginning their professional lives, but to be able to continue the conversations about the work I love on leadership and development with our alums who are in later stages of their careers has been so energizing and rewarding to me,” Gerhardt said.

2014 economics graduate Allen Dengler, president of the Cleveland Alumni Chapter, received the H. Kenneth Gambee Young Alumni Award, given to alumni who graduated in the past 10 years who have demonstrated exemplary service to the Alumni Association. The award is named to honor H. Kenneth Gambee '33, an alumnus who was committed to the success of young people and who played an instrumental role in bringing John Dolibois to Miami as a student.

1981 finance graduate Rick McVey was named Philanthropist of the Year, the highest recognition for an alumnus or other friend of the university who has made a noteworthy, university-wide impact or has supported or directed fundraising for a specific major university priority project. McVey’s $20 million gift is the key part of the planned Richard M. McVey Data Science Building, which will benefit Miami students for years to come.

A virtual celebration of all the association’s award recipients will take place at 7 p.m. on Dec. 11. Visit the Alumni Advancement page to register for the event.