December 15, 2021
Susquehanna University inducted new members into the Susquehanna Society, the university’s highest giving designation. The Susquehanna Society recognizes individuals and foundations who have given a total of $1 million or more to Susquehanna in their lifetime.
Dawn Grigg ’68 Mueller, M.D., and Alan G. Fleischer
Dawn Grigg ’68 Mueller M.D., graduated from Susquehanna in 1968 and received her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1972. She is a retired assistant director of neonatal intensive care and associate professor of pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. In 2001, she received the Susquehanna University Alumni Association’s Achievement Award. Dawn resides in Richmond, Virginia.
Dawn and Alan were married for 27 years until his death in 2016 at age 99. Alan graduated from New York University in 1937 and NYU Law School in 1939. Upon graduation, he joined a Wall Street firm, but soon left to enlist in the U.S. Navy at the start of World War II. After the war he moved to Richmond, Virginia, to continue his law career and co-founded the law firm Hirschler Fleischer, and later Fidelity Bankers Life Insurance Company, Security Industrial Loan Association and Metropolitan National Bank.
Martin “Marty” ’98 and Karyn Kern ’01 Pinter and the Julius and Katheryn Hommer Foundation
Marty Pinter ’98 graduated from Susquehanna with a degree in history. While at SU, he participated in varsity football and track and field, serving as a captain of both teams and earning All-American honors for track and field (javelin) in 1998. Inducted into the SU Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. Marty is the global category manager for production equipment at CRH plc, the world’s largest vertically integrated building materials company. Marty’s wife, Karyn Kern ’01 Pinter, graduated from Susquehanna with a degree in psychology. She was the former director of student-athlete services and sports information director and senior woman administrator at Kean University and was inducted into the SU Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. The Pinters reside in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, with their daughters, Julia and Kathryn.
The Julius and Katheryn Hommer Foundation was established in 1995 in honor of Julius Hommer, a tool and die maker from Newark, NJ, and his wife, Katheryn (grandparents to Karyn Kern ’01 Pinter), who founded Hommer Tool and Manufacturing Company in 1942. In providing grants, the foundation gives preference to organizations in northeastern Pennsylvania with particular emphasis on education and the arts.
Richard E. ’63 and Marjorie E. Rowe
Originally from New London, Connecticut, Richard Rowe graduated from Susquehanna in 1963. He was an active student involved in the Student Christian Association, Business Society, Lambda Chi Alpha, soccer and more.
Following graduation, Richard went to the U.S. Navy’s Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, earning a commission as an ensign. He served in the U. S. Navy on active duty for four years, doing two tours with the U.S. Seventh Fleet in support of the Vietnam War effort. After active duty, he continued in the United States Naval Reserve, retiring with the rank of lieutenant commander.
Returning to civilian life in 1967, he joined the family’s retail fuel oil and heating equipment business, located in Southeastern Connecticut. In 1973 he married his life partner and best friend, Marjorie. After selling the family business, Richard remained active in the community and managed the assets of Rowe Investment Corporation. In 2002, Marjorie and Richard left their comfortable home in Mystic, Connecticut, and moved to the warmer climate of Marco Island, Florida.
Edward ’69 and Donna Schmidt
Edward R. Schmidt ’69, emeritus board member, graduated from Susquehanna with a degree in economics and later from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1972. Ed is a retired partner of the Indianapolis based law firm, Krieg DeVault, LLP, where he chaired the tax-exempt and nonprofit organizations practice group and served as a member of the firm’s executive committee. Ed served as executive vice president, general counsel-secretary and was a member of the Board of Directors of USA Group, Inc., the largest guarantor of student loans in the United States. Ed remains active and interested in Susquehanna, where he served as a member of on the Board of Trustees from 2004-2017. Ed served as a vice chair of the board, and chair of its Compensation Committee.
Ed is a member of the Board of Trustees of Strada Education Network, where he served as chairman from 2017-2020 and Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center, Inc. He also currently serves as the chairman of Healthcare Initiatives, Inc., an Indianapolis based charitable foundation. He is a member of several bar associations, including the Indianapolis Bar Association where he has been recognized as a Distinguished Fellow.
Ed and his wife, Donna, are the parents of three adult sons, Jeffrey D. Schmidt, Esq., Todd E. Schmidt, M.D., and Michael J. Schmidt, Esq.