Slippery Rock University will honor five distinguished alumni whose professional accomplishments, community service and continued commitment to The Rock have made a lasting impact. The 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients represent the high standards of achievement, character and service that have defined the award since it was established by the SRU Alumni Association in 1968.
The following honorees will be recognized during the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Reception at 7 p.m., Oct. 23, at the Russell Wright Alumni House, as part of Homecoming 2026:
Larry Baxter ’75
Larry Baxter dedicated his to serving vulnerable youth, families and older adults through social services, rehabilitation and advocacy. A 1975 SRU graduate with a degree in sociology, Baxter retired in 2015 as the chief of the Elder Rights Bureau for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs.
As a student at SRU, Baxter was a member of the Black Action Society and the junior varsity basketball team and track teams. After graduating he accepted a position as Dauphin County juvenile probation officer and aftercare specialist in his hometown of Harrisburg and went to serve as director of prison reduction and prison counselor in the district attorney’s office. In 1987, Baxter relocated to Okeechobee, Florida, where he accepted employment with Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Inc. Before finishing his career with the Florida Department of Elder Affairs from 2008-15, Baxter held several progressive positions providing services and resources to and for delinquent and at-risk Florida youth and their families.
Eric Cunningham ’97
Eric Cunningham is the CEO and founder of Green Cabbage, an international procurement intelligence company that serves more than 2,600 organizations all over the world using agentic AI to accelerate and facilitate better deal outcomes, strengthen supplier negotiations and help clients make smarter procurement decisions. Headquartered in Cranberry Township near Pittsburgh, Green Cabbage has offices in India, Singapore, London and will soon expand to Mexico City.
Dozens of the 200 employees at Green Cabbage are former college athletes, including Cunningham who played football at The Rock before graduating in 1997 with a degree in sport management.
Monica Lamar ’95
Monica Lamar serves as the assistant superintendent for 18 K–5 and K–8 schools in Pittsburgh Public Schools. She previously served as principal of Pittsburgh Dilworth Pre-K–5 for 15 years and has 20 years of experience as a school principal.
Lamar earned a Bachelor of Science in education from SRU, a Master of Science in education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Doctor of Education from Duquesne University. A life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Lamar previously served as president of the Alpha Alpha Omega Chapter. During her administration, the chapter was recognized by Pittsburgh City Council for contributing more than 19,000 volunteer service hours to the community.
Terry Shulsky ’90
Terry Shulsky is an attorney at law at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC who graduated cum laude from SRU in 1990 with a degree in political science. Shulsky was a four-year letterman with The Rock football program and a PSAC Scholar Athlete.
In 1998, he earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Duquesne University and became an associate attorney at Buchanan. He was promoted to shareholder at the law firm in 2006. He earned several awards during his career including Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers Rising Stars in 2005 and 2006 and The Best Lawyers in America in 2018.
Shulsky is a member of the board of directors for the Miracle League for Southwestern PA and the board of trustees of the Seneca Valley Foundation. He recently began his second term as a board member of the Slippery Rock University Foundation, Inc.
Claude AnShin Thomas ’74
Claude AnShin Thomas is an author and ordained Zen Buddhist monk who founded the Zaltho Foundation and the Magnolia Zen Center, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote peace and nonviolence in and among individuals, families, and societies
A native of Meadville, Thomas served in the United States Army in Vietnam War, and, after being honorably discharged in 1968, he enrolled at SRU, earning his bachelor’s degree in secondary education-English in 1974 and completed the majority of course work toward a Master of Fine Arts in English. He went on to receive a Master of Business Administration at Lesley College an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Moravian College.
Throughout the period of his post combat military service, he felt socially ostracized, suffering homelessness, drug addiction and unemployability. In 1991 he came in contact with Zen Buddhist practice, becoming awake to the devastating and lasting effects of war and how to make peace with this unpeacefulness. He was fully ordained a Zen Buddhist monk, AnShin AnGyo, in 1995. Thomas published his first book in 2004 with the title “AT HELL’S GATE – A Soldier’s Journey From War To Peace.” He has published several more books since then and is active serving the disenfranchised. Thomas speaks and leads retreats internationally on awareness and meditation practice, transformation and reconciliation.
More information about the Distinguished Alumni Award, including links to full awardee bios and registration for the event, is available on the Alumni Association website.
