STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; April 30, 2001 -- Omar J. Bhutta and Beth Buchheit have been selected winners of the 2001 Ernest B. McCoy Memorial Awards. In addition, men's basketball standout Titus Ivory is one of six University-wide recipients of the John W. Oswald Award.
The trio of student-athletes were recognized during the University's annual Student Awards Ceremony on Sunday, April 29, at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.
The McCoy Award is presented to one senior male and one senior female student-athlete who have combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence. The award is named for Ernest B. McCoy, who was Penn State's Athletic Director and Dean of the College of Physical Education from 1952-70. His name adorns the Penn State natatorium
A member of the fencing team with a specialization in the foil, Bhutta, of Pittsburgh, will graduate in May from the Engineering Science program. In addition to serving as a tutor in the College of Engineering, he was fencing team manager for two years and a contributor to the team's 2000 NCAA Championship and its second place showing in the 2001 NCAA competition.
A member of the women's cross country and track and field teams, Buchheit also sits on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board while majoring in Nutrition with a minor in Kinesiology. The Greensburg native will graduate in May having been an Academic All-Big Ten honoree four years in a row, a research assistant for several Health and Human Development studies, and a teaching assistant for two introductory nutrition classes. She is a distance runner on the track squads.
Ivory was recognized as one of six Penn State seniors who have provided outstanding leadership at the University with his selection as an Oswald Award winner, named for Penn State's 13th president (1970-83).
A four-year starter, Ivory was a standout on this year's Nittany Lion basketball team, which defeated Providence and North Carolina to earn its first NCAA Sweet 16 berth since 1955. The Charlotte, N.C. native was voted team co-MVP, earned third team All-Big Ten honors and played in the NABC All-Star Game during Final Four weekend. One of the program's top 10 all-time leading scorers, last week he testified before a U.S. Senate Committee on the NCAA's behalf on legislation which would extend a ban on legal wagering on college sports to the state of Nevada. Ivory earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Psychology last fall, and is continuing with non-degree graduate studies toward a teaching certificate. He has represented Penn State on the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference, chaired the SAAB Diversity Committee, and participated in numerous charitable events and classroom motivational appearances.