Rick Fried '63 & Ben Driggs '96 Named U of A Alumni of the Year
Congratulations to Beta Phi alumni Ben Driggs ’96 (W.A. Franke Honors College) and Rick Fried ’63 (James E. Rogers College of Law), who have been named University of Arizona Alumni of the Year for their respective colleges.
Richard Fried '63
2026 AOY Honoree, James E. Rogers College of Law - Class of 1963 and 1966
Richard Fried Jr. is one of Hawaiʻi’s most accomplished trial attorneys and a nationally recognized leader in medical malpractice, aviation, product liability and serious personal injury law. A founding partner of Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina & Fairbanks in Honolulu in 1973, he has spent over five decades securing justice in Hawaiʻi’s most complex, high-stakes cases.
Originally from Arizona, Rick earned both his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Arizona, where he also captained the men’s varsity tennis team. He is admitted to practice before the Hawaiʻi State Bar, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Among the highlights of his distinguished career, Rick represented families in 51 helicopter crash cases and served as lead counsel in landmark litigation that produced the largest consumer protection recovery in Hawaiʻi’s history — a milestone in pharmaceutical accountability that concluded last year.
Throughout his career, Rick has advocated for victims of medical negligence, defective products and aviation disasters. He has served as president of the Hawaiʻi State Trial Lawyers Association and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, co-director of Hawaiʻi’s Innocence Project and, until recently, chair of the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. He remains dedicated to mentoring young attorneys and supporting legal education through his continued ties to the U of A.
For his outstanding career and his dedication to justice, the University of Arizona is honored to name Richard Fried Jr. the 2026 Alumnus of the Year for the James E. Rogers College of Law.
Benjamin Driggs '96
2026 AOY Honoree, W. A. Franke Honors College - Class of 1996
Benjamin Driggs is the chief commercial and strategy officer for Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace. He oversees enterprise strategy, mergers and acquisitions, venture investments, and commercial functions, including sales excellence, marketing, pricing and innovation. Throughout his 20-year Honeywell career, Ben has been recognized for transformational growth leadership, launching new technologies and forging strategic partnerships across the aviation, energy, logistics and smart infrastructure sectors. He has held executive roles on four continents, including serving as president and CEO of Honeywell’s high growth regions and president of the Connected Aircraft and Aerospace Americas businesses.
Before joining Honeywell, Ben was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company, advising global industrial clients on strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and operational transformation.
Ben earned his bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree from Oxford University, where he was a Swanson Scholar. At Arizona, he served as student body president and received the Nugent Medal, the university’s highest undergraduate honor. In 2014, he received the Spirit of Inquiry Award.
Deeply committed to education and community impact, Ben supports scholarships for first-generation college students and former foster youth. He also mentors in career advancement programs with Honeywell and the Flinn Foundation, and in 2025 he and his wife established the Ben and Andrea Driggs Honors Travel Quest Endowment to expand research travel opportunities for W.A. Franke Honors College students.
For his professional achievements and dedication to service, the University of Arizona is proud to name Benjamin Driggs the 2026 Alumnus of the Year for the W.A. Franke Honors College.
Click here to learn more about the other winners.
