The evening of the Rawls Hall dedication, the school held its Third Annual Krannert Leadership Speakers Series event in the Purdue Memorial Ballrooms. A sellout crowd of more than 700 heard remarks from keynote speaker Tim Russert, host of NBC’s Meet the Press. The evening also featured Krannert’s annual awards:

• Krannert Distinguished Alumni Award: Kelvin Pennington (BSIM ’80), president, Pennington Partners & Company
• Krannert Distinguished Service Award: Christine Kowalski (MSM ’87), vice president of global control and reengineering, Guidant Corporation; and John Willis, managing partner, Willis Stein & Partners
• John S. Day Distinguished Alumni Academic Service Award: Carolyn Woo (BSIM ’75, MSIA ’76, PhD ’79), Martin J. Gillen Dean and Milann Siegfried Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame
• Krannert Business Leadership Award: This award, the school’s most prestigious honor, acknowledges busi-ness and community success. Dick Dauch, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of American Axle & Manufacturing Inc., received the award.

Tim Russert captivated a capacity crowd with his talk about the current state of political affairs in the United States.