Harris and Newell Named Alumni Fellows
Two alumni of the College of Health and Human Development – Franco Harris ’72 FS HA, president and owner of Super Bakery, Inc., and Kenneth Newell ’76 HPA, president and CEO of Manorhouse Management, L.C. – have been named Alumni Fellows by the Penn State Alumni Association.
The Alumni Fellow Award is the most prestigious award given by the Penn State Alumni Association. Since its creation in 1973, the award has been given to select alumni who, as leaders in their professional fields, are nominated by an academic college and accept an invitation from the University president to return to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty and administrators.
Franco Harris is well known for his outstanding career in the National Football League – one so productive that it earned him a 1990 induction into The Pro Football Hall of Fame. His career in food service began in the early 1980s with a small distribution company called Franco’s All Naturèl. Harris established Super Bakery in 1990 with the goal of making it “The Leader in Bakery Nutrition.” Two of the company’s products, Super Donuts and Super Muffins, were among the first products to meet USDA guidelines for school lunch programs. Today, they are sold to schools, the military and commercially in all 50 states and overseas.
Franco Harris has been honored by receiving the Alumni Fellow Award from the Penn State Alumni Association. Pictured from left to right are: Lewis Gold, board president, Penn State Alumni Association, Dr. Raymond Coward, former dean, College of Health and Human Development, Franco Harris, and Dr. Graham Spanier, president, Penn State University
Harris has received numerous honors, including the Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award, NFL “Man of the Year,” The American Academy of Achievement “Golden Plate Award,” the National Urban League’s Whitney M. Young Award and the National Multiple Sclerosis Volunteer of the Year Award.
Harris was named a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus in 1981 and is a 2000 inductee into the Mount Nittany Society. He has established an endowed scholarship for students in the School of Hospitality Management and was named that schools' “Alumnus of the Year” in 2001. Harris is an advisory board member of the schools' Center for Food Innovation and has worked with faculty in the school to develop a sports recovery drink that began selling commercially in 2005.
Kenneth Newell began his career in hospital administration, serving as an officer in the United States Air Force followed by eight years in the private sector, including six years with Hospital Corporation of America. In 1987 he founded and served as president of Manorhouse Management and Development, Inc. which provided real estate development services, healthcare consulting, and medical practice management. In 1995, he became president of Manorhouse Retirement Centers, Inc. Under his leadership the company enjoyed significant growth and was recognized as an industry leader for quality care and service.
Kenneth Newell has been honored by receiving the Alumni Fellow Award from the Penn State Alumni Association. Pictured from left to right are: Lewis Gold, board president, Penn State Alumni Association, Dr. Raymond Coward, former dean, College of Health and Human Development, Kenneth Newell, and Dr. Graham Spanier, president, Penn State University
Newell holds a masters degree in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas. He is a member of the board of directors of the Richmond Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and the advisory board of the Virginia Center on Aging. He is also a member of the National Business Advisory Council and the Assisted Living Facilities Association of America.
Newell served as a member of the board of directors of the College of Health and Human Development Alumni Society and was chair of its development committee during the “Grand Destiny” campaign. He and his wife, Jennifer, currently serve as members of the HHD Development Council on which he serves as the chair of the special projects committee. The couple resides in Richmond, Virginia and are the proud parents of two children, Alison and Brennan.
