Grace Litak-Jaswinski '78, '80g Lib, was recently named a Penn State University Alumni Fellow, the most prestigious award given by the Penn State Alumni Association.
As contract manager of commercial contract management and negotiations for Hewlett Packard (HP), she is responsible for resolving domestic and international contractual issues and negotiations with HP customers.
Prior to her role at HP, Ms. Litak-Jaswinski was senior negotiations executive for 13 years with IBM, where she conducted key negotiations for the company at locations in France, Poland and the United States. She has extensive experience in international law, export controls and anti-trust compliance, and has conducted international transactions in multi-lingual, multi-cultural environments.
Born and raised in Poland, she moved to the United States during her senior year in high school. She began her college career at Penn State Worthington Scranton, receiving both her bachelor's and master's degrees in linguistics from Penn State, where she minored in German and electrical engineering, and was awarded a teaching assistantship while earning her master's degree.
She received her juris doctorate from Quinnipac University and was a recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award. As an international contracts manager with Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, she had professional interactions with such key dignitaries as Lech Walesa and Gen. Alexander Haig.
Since her return to northeast PA, she has served as guest speaker for Penn State Worthington Scranton's 2013 Prudential Lectureship and Luncheon Program, where she spoke to business and information science and technology degree students about international web security issues and protecting one's own privacy and online identity. She also provided an in-class negotiations workshop for participants in the campus' Linde Family Business Mentoring Program and upper-level business students.
Ms. Litak-Jaswinski is a member of the Penn State Alumni Association and the Penn State Worthington Scranton Advisory Board. She lives in Scranton with her husband, Joseph. They are the parents of three children.
As leaders in their fields, Alumni Fellows provide a dimension to the academic curriculum not otherwise available in the traditional college classroom. Recipients get the opportunity to return to the University to share their knowledge and expertise with the University community.
Ms. Litak-Jaswinski was also honored at a special reception at University Park in October , and spoke at that event, along with other distinguished Penn State graduates, whom were also named 2013 Alumni Fellows.
