W. Howard Cyr and Robert D. Smith share more in common than their love for and loyalty to their graduate alma mater Penn State. Both received master’s degrees and doctoral degrees. Both were also inspired to create endowments in support of the Graduate Exhibition, as an expression of gratitude for the influence Penn State had on their lives and careers.

Significantly, both agree that one of the most valuable benefits of participating in the Graduate Exhibition is the opportunity for graduate student exhibitors to communicate their research or creative endeavor in clear and comprehensible terms to a general audience of individuals outside of their fields.

Cyr, who endowed the W. Howard Cyr Graduate Exhibition Award in Health and Life Sciences, volunteers as a judge at the event each year. When offering feedback on his scoring sheet, he will often advise graduate students to simplify their verbal and visual presentation and to remember that they are not presenting all the detailed information that would be included in a full publication. He also encourages graduate students who create a poster to think about the “bottom line” and to ensure that it is reflected in the title, purpose and conclusion.

“The biggest mistake is to overdue it,” Cyr said. “You want to present the information (verbally) in an understandable way, so that your listener has an ‘Aha’ moment.”

Smith endowed the Smith/Kern Graduate Exhibition Awards in Social and Behavioral Sciences in memory of his wife Vilma and in recognition of a longstanding friendship with Frank Kern, the first Dean of the Graduate School, who was an influential figure in the lives of the Smiths. Smith said he was inspired to endow an award for the Graduate Exhibition, in part, by the emphasis placed on the development of communication skills.

“Communication skills are essential to success, especially for those who go on to teach,” said Smith, professor emeritus of management and leadership at Kent State University. “I thought it was a wonderful idea to include a communication requirement in the judging criteria at the Graduate Exhibition.”

As Graduate School alumni, Cyr and Smith both acknowledged the sense of pride that has accompanied the creation of endowments that support the academic goals and professional aspirations of graduate students at Penn State. With designation of their philanthropy for the Graduate Exhibition, Cyr and Smith established a legacy of support for graduate students who are passionate about their discipline and enthusiastic about research and creative endeavors that possess both meaning and impact.

“A Graduate Exhibition award is a small token of appreciation for achievement,” Smith said. “It is a form of recognition that I hope will always convey to each award recipient a well-deserved sense of accomplishment.”

Cyr received a master’s degree and doctoral degree in biophysics from Penn State in 1966 and 1972, respectively. During his 33-year career with the Food and Drug Administration, Cyr specialized in genetics, ionizing radiation and photobiology. He retired from the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service with the rank of Captain in 2000, but continued to work in the Civil Service. In 2012, he received the FDA Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award for excellent work in radiological research studies. Now in his second term as a member of the Graduate School Alumni Society Board of Directors, Cyr resides in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Smith received a master’s degree and doctoral degree in management from Penn State in 1964 and 1966, respectively. He was a member of the faculty at Kent State University for 37 years. He retired in 2005 and was honored with the title of professor emeritus. In 1986, he established the Center for Information Systems at Kent State. The center is dedicated to improving the development, application and management of information systems through quality instruction, internationally recognized research and service to area businesses and other profit and non-profit organizations. Smith resides in Stow, Ohio.

Regina Vasilatos-Younken, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School, said the Graduate Exhibition dramatically illustrates the impact of advanced degrees on global society and individual career trajectories. 

“Significantly, the Graduate Exhibition enables graduate students to see themselves as part of the larger University community, to share their scholarship, and to appreciate the breadth of quality research being conducted at Penn State, she said. “The Graduate Exhibition endowments created by Cyr and Smith, as well as the ongoing philanthropic support provided by our corporate sponsor AT&T Mobility, are vital to advancing graduate education at Penn State. Through their giving, these donors are making a lasting impact upon society and our collective future as a global community, as graduate students are the intellectual capital for research enterprises throughout the U.S. and the world, and constitute the professorate of the future.”

Forty-one graduate students received monetary awards for their research and creative scholarship in the 34^th annual Graduate Exhibition in 2019. More than 200 graduate students registered for the Graduate Exhibition which included 197 graduate student participants in the research poster presentation option, 11 in the visual arts option, 10 in the performance option, seven in the video option, and six in the new design option. More than 75 individuals volunteered to serve as judges.