The Rutgers Institute for Ethical Leadership has chosen Rutgers-Newark alumnus Alfred C. as the third recipient of the Steven J. Diner Ethical Leadership Award, presented annually to an individual who demonstrates a long-term commitment to strengthening civil society through ethical leadership.

Koeppe is currently the chief executive officer of the Newark Alliance. He has served as president and chief operating officer of Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G) and president and CEO of Bell Atlantic-New Jersey.

Koeppe received his B.A. in English and history from Rutgers University, Newark, in 1969, and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law. He began his career with New Jersey Bell in 1969 in the Operations Department and enrolled in Seton Hall University Law School’s Evening Division in 1972. After becoming a member of the New Jersey and District of Columbia bars in 1975, he served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Vincent P. Biunno, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. He later became a trial attorney for the New Jersey Department of the Public Defender.

In 1978 he joined AT&T in Washington D.C., as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice, MCI and Southern Pacific antitrust cases.

He returned to New Jersey Bell as a general attorney in 1983 and, after serving in a number of senior positions in operations and finance, was elected president and CEO of Bell-Atlantic New Jersey in 1993. Subsequently, he joined PSE&G and become president and COO in March 2000.

About the Award

This annual award is in honor of a champion of the Institute for Ethical Leadership, Steven J. Diner, former Rutgers-Newark Chancellor. The Steven J. Diner Ethical Leadership Award is given annually to an individual who demonstrates a long-term commitment to strengthening civil society through ethical leadership.

In addition, the annual awardee names a nonprofit organization in Newark that receives a monetary prize.  This year Koeppe has chosen St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark.  St. Benedict's Prep educates young men, with a special focus on serving minority youngsters and those from low-income backgrounds, but accepts students from all racial, religious, and socioeconomic groups from Newark and surrounding areas.