Industry Executive, Engineer and Faculty Member John Procario to be Honored with UC s Award for Excellence

John C. Procario, president, CEO and chairman of American Transmission Company (ATC), will be honored with the University of Cincinnati Award for Excellence at

UC’s afternoon Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 11, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center

. The award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the purposes and ideals of the university.

Prior to joining ATC, Procario spent 32 years with Cinergy, now part of Duke Energy, where he held various engineering, management and executive positions. An electrical engineer and industry executive, he has shared his expertise with future engineers by spending more than three decades teaching courses to UC students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS).

From 1975 through 2008, Procario developed a series of electric power engineering courses and taught over 100 electrical engineering classes at the University of Cincinnati as an adjunct professor. He has served as a member of the CEAS Advisory Council since 2002 and was chair from 2006 to 2010, and has also served on various CEAS department advisory committees.

“He has an outstanding reputation among our students. Word of his teaching ability passes from student to student, and it is not unusual for his courses to fill to capacity,” says Thomas Mantei, UC professor of electrical engineering and former head of the UC Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science (now the School of Electronics and Computer Systems). Mantei added that Procario’s connections with Duke Energy have made the company the largest professional practice employer of UC students in electrical and computer engineering.

“John has become a staunch advocate for the next generation of engineers by serving as mentor to younger colleagues and as adjunct professor to electrical and computer engineering students,” says Carlo D. Montemagno, dean of the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science. “In over 30 years of continuous, excellent teaching, John has become the face of the electric power area in the college, teaching more than 100 classes on the subject. He has singlehandedly provided a minor in power engineering that would otherwise have been unavailable to our students,” says Montemagno.

“John has a great sense of humor as well that keeps students engaged in learning the curriculum,” says UC alumnus Stephen B. Briggs (1983), advisor of Tech Transfer and Retail Technologies for FirstEnergy Corp., based in Akron, Ohio. “It is no wonder that Professor Procario is a popular teacher, considering his traits of keeping things interesting, sharing real-life experiences, calibrating to industry developments and being an advocate for each of his students.”

An active industry participant, Procario currently serves on the Edison Electric Institute Board of Directors, North American Electric Reliability Council Electric Sector Coordinating Committee, the Keystone Energy Board, and the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies Board of Directors. He has served on other industry organizations including the North American Energy Standards Board and the Electric Power Research Institute. He is also past Chair of the Cincinnati Section of the Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers.