February 9, 2026
Twelve graduates honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards
Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented annually by each of RIT’s nine colleges, the Graduate School, and the School of Individualized Study to alumni who have performed at the highest levels of their profession or who have contributed to the advancement and leadership of civic, philanthropic, or service organizations.
Here are the 2026 recipients.
| College of Art and Design Sebastian Scripps ’88 (interior and industrial design) worked in design, engineering, development, and manufacturing for companies including Cuisinart, American Tourister, and Kodak. He is currently an angel investor. |
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| College of Engineering Technology Richard Whitmore ’01 (mechanical engineering technology) is president and CEO of Motivair by Schneider Electric, overseeing global operations and business development. Under his leadership, the company continues to advance its direct liquid cooling and thermal management solutions. |
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| Andrew Whitmore ’11 (mechanical engineering technology) is vice president of sales at Motivair by Schneider Electric. He has been instrumental in expanding Motivair’s presence in high-performance computing and data center markets. |  |
| College of Health Sciences and Technology Christopher Palmieri ’00 MS (health systems administration) has served as CEO at six different healthcare companies over the past 30 years, two of which he grew to $3 billion in revenue. He has been on the board of several health insurance trade organizations. |
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| College of Liberal Arts Kathi Westcott ’91 (criminal justice) is deputy general counsel and senior director of legal affairs at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where she leads a team providing comprehensive legal support across more than 50 areas. |
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| College of Science Dr. Micheline Lubin ’99 (biology) is a board-certified physician in internal medicine, anatomical pathology, and forensic pathology. She is an associate medical examiner at the Snohomish County (Washington) Medical Examiner’s Office. |
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| Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences Arthur Deane ’08 (electrical engineering) is vice president and chief information security officer at Discover Financial Services. He has worked at Capital One, Google, and Amazon. He serves on the GCCIS National Council and created an endowed scholarship for the college. |
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| Graduate School Grant Tremblay ’11 Ph.D. (astrophysical sciences and technology) is an astrophysicist and head of external relations at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and vice president of the American Astronomical Society. |
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| Kate Gleason College of Engineering Alicia Scott ’97 (microelectronic engineering) is director of strategic talent operations at Resideo. Her work has optimized complex operations across continents and streamlined talent processes. She also mentors young professionals and students. |
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| National Technical Institute for the Deaf Charmaine Jacobs Hlibok ’94 (professional and technical communication) retired as elementary school principal at the Maryland School for the Deaf. She has over 25 years of experience in Deaf education, language development, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement. |
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| Saunders College of Business Jeannie Khaw ’94 (business administration accounting), ’95 (MBA) has worked at the International Monetary Fund since 2001. She started as an accountant and has been promoted to roles of increasing responsibility over the past two decades. |
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| School of Individualized Study Melissa Murphy ’12 (applied arts and sciences) is a creative leader in experiential marketing. She has worked on events such as the Super Bowl, Coachella, and SXSW. She has partnered with clients including Disney, Amazon, Red Bull, Cash App, and Billboard. |
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