The famous quote by Rudyard Kipling, “The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack,” continues to ring true each year with the recognition of the Alumni Achievement Awards. The awards honor members of the Wolfpack who have made outstanding contributions to NC State in their career, profession or community.

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Award of Merit | J. Stuart “Stu” Coman Jr.

The Award of Merit is given to a non-alumni friend of NC State who has made outstanding contributions in their profession, community and to the university.

As the president of Coman Publishing Company, Stu Coman has overseen the publication of more than 500 editions of The Wolfpacker, now the official magazine of the Wolfpack Club. He has played an integral role in documenting, celebrating and amplifying the stories that have defined NC State sports for the last 40 years.

The late Jim Valvano, a mentor to Coman, always stressed giving back, and Coman has tried to show appreciation for NC State by overseeing various projects for the athletic department and Wolfpack Club, endowing scholarships at NC State in sports and other departments, donating to athletic causes and assisting whenever he was able.

While Coman’s company has coordinated work for many other colleges and professional teams, he said has never forgotten where his work began and who has supported him the most.   

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Distinguished Global Alumnus Award | Marco A. Zarate ’81

The Distinguished Global Alumni Award honors an international graduate of NC State who has made exceptional contributions to their profession and community and who represents the Think and Do spirit to the broader world. 

Marco Zarate has a Master of Industrial Engineering from NC State and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico. He is a corporate environmental senior project manager with 40 years of experience.

Zarate is a native of Mexico and moved to North Carolina in 1990. He was the president – on a volunteer basis for 19 years – and co-founder of the North Carolina Society of Hispanic Professionals, whose mission is promoting education among Hispanic youth. The organization has served over 20,000 Hispanic students with scholarships, tutoring and the annual Hispanic Educational Summit. 

Zarate’s lifelong advocacy in education has earned him the Othli Award from the government of Mexico, the highest honor bestowed on a member of the Mexican/Mexican American community. Additionally, he was inducted into the Wake County Public School System Hall of Fame. Zarate’s extensive service on non-profit educational boards includes NC State’s College of Education Advisory Board, the Public School Forum of NC and the Governor’s Commission on Minority Achievement.

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Meritorious Service Award | Patrick J. Murray ’88

The Meritorious Service Award is given to an NC State graduate who has made significant contributions to their profession, community and NC State.

Patrick Murray worked at Intel for 30 years in a variety of roles including applications engineer/manager and managing product planning for several generations of Intel CPUs, chipsets and PC technologies. Additionally, he led the Global Software Alliances and Worldwide Retail Sales teams.

Upon retirement, Murray has dedicated his time to helping students and educators. He served two terms on both the board of directors for Raleigh Charter High School and NC State’s Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Advisory Board. 

For the ISE Department, he mentors students, is a volunteer adjunct lecturer for the Product Development and Senior Design courses, and lectures in the Master of Engineering Management program. He was inducted into the NC State ISE Hall of Fame in 2021.

Murray currently serves on the NC State Alumni board of directors, the town of Cary Information Services Advisory Board and the board of directors for Charity Navigator. In 2024, he earned the Presidential Lifetime Service Award, signed by President Biden, for volunteering more than 4,000 hours to education.

Recently, Murray supported the NC State Alumni Volunteer Leadership Conference, an event focused on connecting volunteer alumni leaders from across the country in discussing new ideas for engaging their respective networks, learning about being effective leaders and creating lifelong connections between alumni.

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Outstanding Young Alumna Award | Morgan S. Fitzgerald ’21

The Outstanding Young Alumni Award honors an alumni member who graduated within the last ten years and has made outstanding contributions in their profession, community and to NC State.

Morgan Fitzgerald is a human resources professional with experience supporting talent strategy, employee development and organizational effectiveness within a global financial services organization. 

Currently serving as an assistant vice president at Bank of America, she partners with business leaders and HR teams to deliver talent programs that enhance employee engagement, professional development and retention. 

Since joining Bank of America, Fitzgerald has contributed to a variety of HR functions, including talent acquisition, learning and development, and human resources generalist support. She has managed programs supporting early-career talent, developed learning initiatives for global teams and collaborated with stakeholders across the organization to improve the employee experience. 

Fitzgerald has held multiple leadership roles within NC State-affiliated organizations, including serving as vice president of the Student Alumni Association Ambassador Program and in leadership roles with NC State Society for Human Resources Management.

She was recognized as part of the Who’s Who in Black Charlotte program, which celebrates African American achievements in industries including business, tech, sport and entertainment. Fitzgerald was also nominated for Elevate Lifestyle’s Top 30 Under 30 Future Leaders Of Charlotte class of 2026, further highlighting her impact.

She co-leads the NC State Charlotte Alumni Network, creating spaces where alumni of all backgrounds can connect, collaborate and give back to NC State.