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James E. "Jim" Rohr Named 2011 Horatio Alger Award Recipient
Chairman and CEO of PNC Financial Services Group to be Inducted this Spring for Overcoming Adversity

WASHINGTON, February 4, 2011 – The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is pleased to announce that James E. “Jim” Rohr,  chairman and CEO of PNC Financial Services Group (PNC Bank), will receive the 2011 Horatio Alger Award in recognition of his personal and professional success despite humble and challenging beginnings.

Rohr will be formally inducted into the association when he accepts the Horatio Alger Award on April 8, 2011, in Washington, D.C. Recipients of the award have overcome great adversity to achieve admirable accomplishments, to serve as examples of achieving the American Dream, and to offer countless hours and resources to help others in need.

“We are pleased to induct Jim Rohr into the Horatio Alger Association and pay tribute to his success in the face of hardship,” said Tony Novelly, president and CEO, Horatio Alger Association. “The 2011 members are extraordinary role models of strength, resolve and achievement and will help to continue our mission of helping young people achieve similar success.”

Rohr was born in 1948 in Cleveland, Ohio, where his parents owned a small restaurant that was mostly referred to as a “fish house.” Jim’s father died when he was 10. After that, his mother managed the restaurant and Jim often helped by washing dishes and doing other chores. The family worked very hard to survive financially.

Rohr attended an academically rigorous high school, St. Ignatius, and college at the University of Notre Dame. He went on to earn an MBA, working his way through obtaining the degree at Ohio State University by student teaching statistics courses. In 1972 he joined Pittsburgh National Bank (which became PNC Financial Services Group). Rohr quickly proceeded through various levels of management and became chief executive officer in 2000 and chairman in 2001. For his leadership of PNC, which has grown assets nearly five-fold under his tenure, Mr. Rohr was named American Banker’s Banker of the Year for 2007. And in 2010, PNC was named Bank of the Year for the U.S. by The Banker magazine (a Financial Times publication).

Rohr serves in a number of civic, cultural and educational organizations. He is the immediate past chairman of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. He is a board member and former chairman of the Greater Pittsburgh Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He is a member of the University of Notre Dame board of trustees and he is a director of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Generative Medicine. He also sits on the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve. In 2005 he received the Reading is Fundamental (RIF) “Great Friend to Kids” award for launching PNC Grow Up Great, a 10-year, $100 million program to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for school and life. In 2006 he received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship.

Rohr will be honored among 11 other remarkable individuals who will receive the 2011 award for their hard work, self-reliance and perseverance:

• Roger Eugene Ailes, Chairman and CEO, FOX News and Chairman,  Fox Television Stations Group
• Anousheh Ansari, Co-Founder and CEO, Prodea Systems, Inc. and Spaceflight Participant, Russian Space Program
• Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor, City of New York and Founder and Owner,Bloomberg, L.P.
• Leonardo DiCaprio,  Actor and Film Producer
• Frederic V. Malek, Founder and Chairman, Thayer Lodging Group
• Harry S. Patten, Founder, Chairman and CEO, National Land Partners, LLC and Inland Management
• Josue “Joe” Robles Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, United Services Automobile Association (USAA)
• Glenn Stearns, Chairman and Owner, Stearns Corporation
• Byron David Trott, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, BDT Capital Partners, LLC
• Rick Waugh, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Scotiabank (International Award Recipient–Canada)
• Herbert A. “Herbie” Wertheim, Chairman and CEO, Brain Power, Inc., Chairman, Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation, and Founding Chairman, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Florida International University

In addition, the 2011 Norman Vincent Peale Award will be presented to Doré Energy Corporation President William J. Doré. The Norman Vincent Peale Award is annually conferred on an association member who has made exceptional humanitarian contributions to society, who has been an active participant in the association, and who continues to exhibit courage, tenacity and integrity in the face of great challenges. The award is named in honor of Dr. Peale, who has been an outstanding leader of the association for more than 40 years. 

The 2011 members will receive their awards at the 2011 Horatio Alger Awards Induction Ceremonies in Washington, D.C. Activities include three days of meetings and celebrations in some of the nation’s most historic buildings. The Horatio Alger National Scholars, remarkable high school seniors who have excelled despite adversity, also will be formally honored during the three-day gathering.

A complete list of all of the Horatio Alger Members can be found at http://www.horatioalger.org/members.cfm.

About The Horatio Alger Association
Founded in 1947, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans continues to fulfill its mission of honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals in our society who have succeeded in spite of adversity and of encouraging young people to pursue their dreams through higher education. The Horatio Alger Association offers three annual scholarship programs: the National Scholarship Program, state scholarship programs, and graduate grants. The association will have awarded more than $87 million in scholarships through 2012 to at-risk students determined to earn college degrees. The association is a Combined Federal Campaign participant; # 77062. For more information, please visit www.horatioalger.org

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