Shady Side Academy alum Bruce Wiegand '65 is the recipient of the 2020 Robert E. Walker Award.

This award is given annually to an alumnus/a whose sustained commitment to Shady Side Academy is consistent with the vision of Mr. Robert E. Walker. Mr. Walker was a revered leader of the Academy's Alumni Office during the 1960s and early 1970s. He was so respected for his work cultivating relationships between SSA and its alumni that in 1969 the Alumni Council created this alumnus of the year award in his name.

Wiegand is the former chief executive officer, president and general counsel of The Phillips Companies, which were engaged in exploration, drilling, production, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas since 1896, primarily in Western Pennsylvania. He led the transformation of The Phillips Companies' E&P business from a conventional developmental drilling company to a dynamic and successful player in the extraordinary Marcellus Shale opportunity.

In 2011, the Phillips Companies' regulated utility, T.W. Phillips Gas and Oil Co., was sold to a private equity firm and its E&P business, Phillips Resources, Inc., was sold to Exxon Mobil Corp. Prior to joining the Phillips Companies, Wiegand, an attorney, was a partner in the law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP (now K&L Gates LLP), Business Practice Group, where he specialized in oil and gas law and natural gas industry regulation.

Wiegand is a graduate of Harvard University, (A.B. Cum Laude) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (J.D.). He currently serves on the boards of several philanthropic organizations in Pittsburgh and is an active private investor. He is also a member of the National Client Advisory Board of Merrill Lynch/Bank of America.

Wiegand, his wife Barbara, and family spend time between homes in Pittsburgh and Naples, Fla. An avid racquet sports enthusiast, he was a member of the Harvard men's national championship squash team and their Eastern intercollegiate championship tennis team. He still enjoys tennis as well as biking, swimming and spending time with his eight grandchildren. He and Barbara are the parents of three SSA alums, Christy '93, Laura '98 and Bo '99.