Beaumont women are changing the world in every imaginable field and service. The Beaumont Distinguished Alumna Award is a prestigious honor awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through their work and service in the spirit of St. Angela Merici.
Margaret “Meg” Taylor Ruesch, PhD ’87
Meg is the Vice President of Research and Development at Pfizer. She was pivotal in developing and manufacturing the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine; Meg and her team focused on enabling RNA and vaccine manufacturing that could be replicated in mass quantity, and ultimately, more than 3 billion doses of vaccine have been manufactured and delivered to more than 170 countries worldwide. Meg is passionate about being a woman in the male-dominated STEM industry and credits much of her confidence and ability to balance being a wife, mother, and researcher from her foundation at Beaumont.
Dr. Rita Hanna Pappas ’84
Rita serves the Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Institute and her patients in the highest leadership role, overseeing 350 physicians and 1000 care specialists. She is one of only two female Institute Chairs at the Cleveland Clinic. Rita is an advocate for children in the State of Ohio and was pivotal in working with our state legislators to pass CHIP (Children's Hospital Insurance Plan). As a Beaumont parent, Hanna Pappas ’19, Rita is an avid fan of the Blue Streak basketball team, and has spoken to the student-athletes about women in leadership. She has been a Career Day presenter sharing her journey from the nursing profession through medical school and becoming a physician.
Noreen Friend Fraser ’71
Noreen was posthumously awarded the 2018 Distinguished Alumna Award. Noreen was the President and CEO of the Noreen Fraser Foundation and co-creator of the Stand Up to Cancer Organization, both dedicated to funding groundbreaking women’s cancer research. Noreen passed away from breast cancer in March 2017 after living courageously with the disease for 16 years. She and her five sisters (Colleen ’70, Cooper ’77, Lucy ’77, Laura ’77, and Bridget ’85) all are proud graduates, along with their mother, Jackie ’47.
