Century Club Welcomes New Members, Presents McAnulty Service Award

Two new members were inducted into the Century Club of Distinguished Duquesne University Alumni on Sept. 24 as part of Homecoming Weekend.

Photos from the Century Club dinner
Pictured in the photo from left to right: McAnulty Service Award honoree Robert Gussin, University President Ken Gormley, and Century Club inductees Thomas Herward and Dennis Brenckle at the Homecoming President’s Dinner.

Established during Duquesne’s 100th anniversary, the Century Club recognizes graduates with exemplary records of professional achievement and service to the University and their communities. Only 343 alumni have been admitted to its ranks. The group is a reflection of Duquesne’s commitment to creating equity and opportunity in the region and beyond.

In addition, a current Century Club member was presented with the McAnulty Service Award, which recognizes outstanding continued support of Duquesne since the honoree’s induction. Named for the University’s 10th president, the Rev. Henry McAnulty, C.S.Sp., the award was initially bestowed on him in 1980. This marks only the 28th time the award has been given.

The 2021 new Century Club inductees are:

Dennis P. Brenckle, Business 1967
Retired president, Central Pennsylvania Region, PNC Bank

After military service in Vietnam, Brenckle returned home to join PNC Bank in 1969. During his more than 40 years with the company, he rose through management positions that included executive vice president of PNC Bank Ohio and regional president for central Pennsylvania from 1998 until his retirement in 2011. In that position, Brenckle doubled the bank’s local business, including the integration of Sterling Financial in 2008, and he established innovative banking products serving students at Penn State University. At the time of his retirement, PNC operated 94 banks in 22 counties in central Pennsylvania.

Brenckle remains a leader in the Harrisburg and central Pennsylvania communities, serving as chairman of the board of directors at Penn State’s Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and as a director of Highmark Health; the Harrisburg Area YMCA; the Whitaker Center for Science and Arts; Pennsylvania Partnership for Culture, Health and Education; Harrisburg Regional Chamber and Capital Region Economic Development Corporation. He has also been active in leadership with Four Diamonds, an organization assisting children battling childhood cancer and the beneficiary of Penn State’s renowned THON fundraiser.

Influenced by his fraternity’s advisor, the late Rev. Joseph Duchene, C.S.Sp., Brenckle has been active in Alpha Epsilon’s efforts to raise funds for scholarships and campus beautification. In 2019, he and his family partnered with Highmark Health to underwrite renovation of the historic Lourdes Grotto, which was dedicated in memory of Brenckle’s mother. Helen Dorothy Spock Brenckle attended Duquesne en route to a 35-year career as a Catholic school teacher, beginning a family legacy that led Brenckle and four other family members to the Bluff.

Thomas J. Herward, Arts 1967
Retired Managing Shareholder
City Beauty, Inc.

The son of Irish immigrant parents, Herward personifies Duquesne’s first-generation college student success stories. Beginning his career as a teacher and coach in Pittsburgh diocesan schools, Herward turned his efforts toward business management in 1972, becoming an executive with the Busy Beaver Building Centers chain, where he worked until 1988. He subsequently was a managing shareholder with Ultimate Restaurants Group (Pizzeria Uno restaurants in the Pittsburgh area), LIQ (Rent-A-Center stores in greater New York City) and City Beauty, a Pittsburgh-based specialty retail and beauty salon operator.

Herward brought a similar entrepreneurial spirit to his community service efforts, most notably volunteer leadership with Bethlehem Haven’s women’s shelter located near Duquesne’s campus. During a leadership transition in 2015, he served as its interim chief executive, guiding a merger with Pittsburgh Mercy Health System that bolstered the shelter’s behavior health service offerings.

Additionally, Herward served as a trustee and board chair of the Edgewood Club, C.C. Mellor Memorial Library and the Allegheny County Library Association. He received the Library Association’s “Trustee of the Year” award and the Edgewood Foundation’s William D. Limpert Award for Volunteer Service.

An active alumnus of Duquesne’s Gamma Phi fraternity, Herward co-chaired its 100th Anniversary reunion in 2016 and led fundraising efforts which yielded $100,000 for a student scholarship fund.

Robert Z. Gussin, a 1959 pharmacy graduate who retired from Johnson & Johnson as corporate vice president for science and technology, received the McAnulty Service Award. A 1986 Century Club inductee, he also earned his Master of Science in pharmacy in 1961. The University presented him with an honorary Doctor of Science in 1995.

Gussin served for 34 years as a vice president with Johnson & Johnson and its McNeil Laboratories division. He previously directed cardiovascular renal disease therapy research for Lederle Laboratories and served as a member of NASA’s Space Flight Advisory Committee. He also was an adjunct professor in the medical schools at Michigan State University and the University of Utah. Since 2006, Gussin has been the founder and chief executive officer of Oceanview Publishing. His own award-winning novel, Trash Talk, was released through the independent Florida-based book publisher.

Gussin is an emeritus member of Duquesne’s board of directors and one of the University’s most generous benefactors. With his wife, Gussin endowed the Drs. Robert and Patricia Gussin Endowed Minority Pharmacy Scholarships, the Gussin Spiritan Division of Academic Programs, and the Robert and Patricia Gussin Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota County Endowed Scholarships. They have also supported athletic programs and return to campus frequently for University events and interaction with students.

Gussin serves on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club and the Library Foundation in Sarasota County, Fla. He is a past director of Holy Ghost Preparatory School, the Alliance for Aging Research and Catholic Health Services of Long Island. Gussin also served on advisory boards at Duquesne, the University of Michigan, the University of Florida, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Harvard University.