Rutgers honors 3 alumni in this year's Hall of Distinguished Alumni ceremony

Rutgers has announced that three new members will be inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni this fall, according to a University press release. 

Organized by the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA), the Hall’s 31st annual induction ceremony on Nov. 7 will honor Vice Chairman of Bank of America Keith Banks, North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and former Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Johnson & Johnson Robert E. Campbell. 

Banks, an alumnus of Newark College of Arts and Sciences in 1977, also works as head of Bank of America’s Investment Solutions Group, according to the release. 

“He is active in many civic and philanthropic causes, including longtime support for Rutgers. He is a member of the Rutgers University Board of Governors and a member of the Board of Directors of New York City’s Lincoln Center,” the release stated. 

Beasley, an alumna of Douglass College in 1988, along with serving as the chief judge in North Carolina, has also been the recipient of numerous professional awards and honors. She is also an inductee into The Douglass Society, membership in which the highest honor is bestowed by Douglass College, and the Hall of Fame of the Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance (RAAA), according to the release. 

And then Campbell, an alumnus of the Rutgers Business School in 1962, “has been a driving force in both the corporate and higher education sectors. He has also played a central role in shaping the contemporary face of healthcare and healthcare institutions at Rutgers,” according to the release. 

The honorary hall for Rutgers alumni was established in 1987 and has inducted more than 200 graduates, including actor James Gandolfini, author Janet Evanovich, news anchor Natalie Morales, actor and humanitarian Paul Robeson, Nobel Prize winners Selman Waksman and Milton Friedman and five former New Jersey governors, according to the release. 

Criteria for the honor is “through their outstanding achievements in professional and civic life, and their dedication to their alma mater, have increased Rutgers’ positive impact on society,” according to the release. 

The RUAA is a network of more than 500,000 living alumni, offering free membership that includes local, national and University benefits. 

“These are Rutgers graduates who have broken down barriers and gone the extra mile,” said Josh Harraman, interim vice president for alumni engagement, annual giving and advancement communications. “They show us what it means to be Scarlet forever, because their achievements aren’t just for themselves — they further Rutgers’ aim to improve the human condition.”