Brenneman named Outstanding Alumnus of 2015

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Andrew Brenneman ’86, ’88

After Andrew Brenneman graduated, he made an effort to stay in contact with RIT/NTID.

Brenneman ’86, ’88 (accounting, business management) was the first deaf alumnus to serve on the RIT Board of Trustees. He served on the NTID National Advisory Group and the Alumni Campaign Leadership Committee for NTID.

He was NTID’s Distinguished Alumnus in 2007 and RIT’s Volunteer of the Year in 2010.

Brenneman will be honored for his ongoing support of the university with the Outstanding Alumnus of 2015 award at the Presidents’ Alumni Ball on Oct. 16 during Brick City Homecoming & Family Weekend. The award is the highest honor RIT can bestow upon an alumnus.

“I told Dr. Destler I don’t think I really deserve this,” Brenneman said. “There are so many other people who deserve it. I give a lot of my time to RIT but I still feel like I don’t give enough.”

Brenneman has been making an impact at RIT since he was a student in the 1980s. He was the first deaf member of RIT’s Alpha Sigma Lambda Honorary Society, which recognizes academic achievement and leadership in college organizations.

After graduating, Brenneman, who is a fifth generation salesman, was recruited into J.P. Morgan’s Management Training Program. He was one of only 100 graduates to be chosen from the original pool of 1,500 who applied. Brenneman worked with J.P. Morgan for seven years, holding various positions from system liaison to business support analyst.

From there he went to Sprint, based in Reston, Va., as an account manager.

At Sprint he was promoted to national account executive, then to senior national account executive.

He is a four-time recipient of Sprint’s President’s Club Award, given to the top 1 percent of sales performers. As a senior national account executive, he is responsible for nationwide sales.

He and his wife, Mary (Fracassini) Brenneman ’84, ’86 (applied art and computer graphics, accounting), have two children, Andrew and Hannah.

He said at RIT he learned how to be a critical thinker and how to move quickly because of the quarter system. The fast pace prepared him well for the business world.

“I am very thankful for the education that I received at RIT. I’m thankful for the staff and the faculty and their commitment. They obviously truly care about their students’ success. I appreciate that so much,” he said. “I know I’m very lucky.”