(12/15/2003) Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary recently awarded the 2003 Founder's Day Medal to Joseph F. Horning, Jr. The annual award was presented to Horning on Monday, December 8, during a 4:30 p.m. mass held in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on the Mount campus.

A Washington, D.C. native, Horning earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Mount in 1953 and a Master's Degree in 1958 from American University. In 1958, he founded the D.C. construction firm, Horning Brothers, with his brother Larry, also a Mount alumnus. The firm specializes in building and operating rental apartments in the District of Columbia. These 2,500 units of housing provide homes to over 5,000 residents.

Besides serving as president of Horning Brothers, Horning plays an active role on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations, including DC Action for Children and Jubilee Housing, the Charter School Board, and the D.C. Center City Consortium. He is particularly committed to making improvements in the District's neighborhoods. Horning has served as president of the Metropolitan Builder's Association, the D.C. Housing Industry Corporation, and the Higher Achievement Program.

Horning has also demonstrated exceptional commitment to the Mount, involving himself in numerous alumni and fundraising activities. In 1978, he received the Mount's Distinguished Alumnus Award; in 1980 the President's Medal. The Mount presented him with an honorary doctorate in 1990. Horning served on the Board of Trustees from 1980 until 1990 and chaired the Board for two years.

The Mount St. Mary's College Founder's Day Medal honors Mount founder, Father John DuBois, and was established in 1983 as part of the college and seminary's 175th anniversary celebration. The medal recognizes a Catholic individual whose actions have a significant, positive impact on the lives of others.