AAF's Peter Shih Named Penn State University Alumni Fellow.

WASHINGTON -- The Pennsylvania State University Alumni Association bestowed its highest honor on Peter W. Shih, the American Advertising Federation (AAF) executive vice president-marketing and communications, on October 14 by naming him an Alumni Fellow. Initiated in 1973, the awards honor select school alumni for outstanding professional accomplishment. The honor was celebrated at the 32nd induction dinner and ceremony at the Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus.

As part of the alumni fellows program, Shih spoke with nearly 500 students in the College of Communications about careers in advertising and the industry's influence on business vitality. As leaders in their professional fields, alumni are nominated by an academic college and accept an invitation from the president of the university to return to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty and administrators.

"The Alumni Fellow program gives us the opportunity to showcase to the world the incredible contributions Penn Staters make to the betterment of the human condition," said Roger Williams, executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association.

In his position with the AAF, Shih is responsible for membership marketing, sponsorships, revenue initiatives, conference programming and AAF's signature awards programs. He also oversees the AAF's communications initiatives.

Prior to joining the AAF, Shih was vice president, marketing, for New York-based American Business Press, the industry association of business-to-business information providers. Shih also acted as vice president of ISL Marketing USA, Inc., where he oversaw marketing and sales for the three largest global sports properties: the Olympics; World Cup Soccer and World Championships of Track and Field to companies such as Kodak, The Coca-Cola Company, Visa, McDonald's, Time magazine and Sports Illustrated.

Earlier in his career, Shih oversaw the Lite Beer from Miller account at McCann-Erickson, Inc., and served as an account executive for the American Broadcasting Company, Inc. He graduated from Penn State in 1967 with a degree in journalism.

The Alumni Fellow award, presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, is administered in cooperation with the academic units. The Board of Trustees has designated the title of Alumni Fellow as permanent and lifelong.

As the "Unifying Voice for Advertising," the American Advertising Federation (AAF), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the trade association that represents 50,000 professionals in the advertising industry. AAF's 130 corporate members are advertisers, agencies and media companies that comprise the nation's leading brands and corporations. AAF has a national network of 200 ad clubs and connects the industry with an academic base through its 215 college chapters. For more information, visit the AAF's Web site at www.aaf.org.