Alumni Awards - Alumni

Each fall during Homecoming and Family Weekend, the Valparaiso University Alumni Association recognizes alumni who have made notable contributions to society and the University. Valparaiso University granted its first alumni awards in 1958, establishing a Valpo tradition of recognizing the great work our alumni continue to do after graduation. These alumni exemplify Valpo’s core values in professional and service roles, and we are proud to count them among our numbers.

Nominations for the 2026 VUAA Alumni Awards are now closed.

We look forward to celebrating this year's award recipients on Saturday, September 26, 2026, during Homecoming and Family Weekend.

Nominations for the 2027 VUAA Alumni Awards will open in February 2027. We hope you'll visit again to submit a nomination.

Alumni awards, translucent, on a white tablecloth-covered table

2025 Awards

Distinguished Alumna Award

Erin Wickland ’04 Hendricks

Alumni Achievement Award

Sherry Budziak '92
Peter Dull '90

First Decade Achievement Award

Hayden Hast '15
Kent Warren '15

Alumni Service Award

Andy Meyer ’95
Sara Manske '97

Alumni Community Service Award

Connie Rudd ’97 BSN Hannon
Bill Tadevich '89

O.P. Kretzmann Award

Jon Kilpinen ’88, Ph.D.

Past Recipients

Distinguished Alumni Award

1974 Rolland M. Wilkening
1975 Arnold G. Busse
1975 Robert D. Freier
1975 Louise F. Nicolay
1976 Richard W. Duesenberg
1976 Paul D. Schrage
1976 Lowell F. Thomas
1977 August H. Bernthal
1977 Carl T. Brighton
1977 Francis J. Householter
1977 Arnold C. Nuechterlein
1978 Paul W. Eggers
1978 Sharon L. King
1978 Reinhold P. Marxhausen
1978 Lawrence G. Regner
1979 William E. Dannemeyer
1979 Donald L. Feucht
1979 James F. Voss
1980 John A. Koepke
1981 Charles S. Brophy
1981 William J. Buhler
1981 Frank W. Chesrow
1981 Raymond L. Scherer
1982 Richard E. Beumer
1982 Gerhard M. Freche
1982 Henry C. Miller
1982 Walter F. Rogosheske
1982 Edmund A. Schroer
1983 Kathryn E. Baerwald
1983 Donald V. Fites
1983 Paul R. Seegers
1983 Edwin L. Zehnder
1984 Howard J. Claussen
1984 Theodore C. Eickhoff
1984 Lane B. Hoffman
1985 Arthur M. Clausing
1985 John E. Grunow
1985 Richard M. Kippen
1985 Charles F. Krause
1985 Alfred J. Pivarnik
1986 L. Barth Reller
1987 Frederick F. Jenny, Jr.
1988 Arthur F. Peterson
1988 Russell P. Schulz
1989 Louise D. Crooks
1989 Charles R. Vaughan
1990 Jill L. Long
1991 Paul A. Sieving
1991 William B. Wehrenberg
1992 Diana Schultz Beardsley
1993 Kenneth A. Francis
1994 Stephen P. Graef
1994 James W. Paul
1995 Ernst R. Berndt
1995 Lillian P. Mullin
1995 Richard W. Wienhorst
1996 Wayne H. Leupold
1996 Kenneth P. Ramming
1996 Marilyn J. Schmiege
1997 Lowell P. Hager
1997 Kathi P. Seifert
1999 Donald A. Becker
1999 Timothy C. Gau
1999 Richard D. Kauzlarich
2001 Kurt Kroenke
2002 Marilyn L. Haas
2002 Jacki L. Lyden
2004 Bill Steinbrecher
2006 Paula Groncy
2008 Stephen Furbacher
2009 John Golbeck
2009 Mark Wedel
2010 Christopher McDougle
2012 Joel Bussert
2013 Mark Marquardt
2015 Sandra Rosenthal
2015 Verne R. Schneider
2016 Roger Brauer
2016 Donald Feucht
2017 Robert Bryant
2018 Kraig Olejniczak
2018 Inez Parker
2019 Eric Bittner
2021 Denise Harlow
2021 James Torgerson
2022 Jennifer Love–Pruitt
2023 Norma Cook Everist
2024 Juanita Fox '78 Gryfinski, MSN, M.S., M.A.

Alumni Achievement Award

1982 H. Harry Henderson
1982 Dorothy Schoknecht
1982 Thomas Schutte
1982 Everett A. Sisson
1982 Victor C. Waldschmidt
1983 Charles H. Foelber
1983 Gordon W. Helms
1983 Gerald E. Pelzer
1983 Garry S. Puetz
1983 Kenneth O. Timm
1984 Richard W. Bimler
1984 Charlotte J. Kroemer
1984 Louis S. Morgal
1984 Rodney B. Poppe
1984 Wesley W. Ratliff, Jr.
1984 Kenneth W. Schreiber
1984 Fred A. Wittlinger
1985 Craig B. Anderson
1985 Robert K. Boknecht
1985 Raymond K. Bopp
1985 Phyllis N. Kersten
1985 Edward J. Kirk
1985 Gerhard W. Schottman
1985 James Wacker
1986 Marjorie J. Albohm
1986 Patricia Shook Boice
1986 Donald M. Luepke
1986 Carl J. Schuette
1987 G. Glen Ellis, Jr.
1987 Judy L. Hoshek
1987 Daniel P. Manka
1987 Dan P. McAdams
1987 Arthur T. Rasmussen
1988 Charles E. "Skip" Bird
1988 Eugene E. Brassfield
1988 Delores A. Woycik
1989 Carole M. Harder
1989 James Y.K. Moy
1990 William G. Conover
1990 Miriam L. Fretthold
1990 David C. Leege
1990 Charles B. Smerick
1990 Fred H. Wehrenberg
1991 Robert K. Duerr Jr.
1991 Harvey P. Grotrian
1991 Mary E. Junck
1991 Kenneth V. Meyer
1991 Charles A. Vandersee
1991 Eunice P. Weidner
1992 James L. Fitzpatrick
1992 Charles E. Neimier
1992 Peter Rucinski
1993 Robert P. Heyne
1993 Grant A. Krafft
1993 Lloyd G. McClendon
1993 Joel D. Mugge
1993 Darla J. Olberding
1993 Donald R. Soeken
1994 Lowell E. Baier
1994 William Harbeck
1994 Pamela K. Jensen
1994 Karl W. Mueller
1994 Richard W. Strefling
1994 Frederick C. Thurston
1995 Jobe J. Cerny
1995 Walter P. Helmke
1995 Fred Nagelbach
1995 T. Marshall Rousseau
1995 William F. Schroer
1995 Alfred L. Seib
1995 Judith O. Sherman
1995 E. Louise Williams
1996 Thomas Baerwald
1996 Robert G. Bryant
1996 Phillip T. DeLassus
1996 James W. Mueller
1996 Robert A. Schuneman
1997 Ronald E. Gother
1998 Heather L. Johnson
1998 Craig A. Wolfanger
1999 V. Patrice Kraus
1999 Joyce E. Lohrentz
1999 Linda J. Roettger
2000 Thomas Denig
2000 Ralph W. Johnson
2000 Nancy J. Paunicka
2000 Karen L. Soeken
2001 Robert D. Rucker
2002 Richard C. Gozon
2002 Rebecca R. Pallmeyer
2002 Richard E. Sering
2003 Gene H. Hennig
2003 Warren G. Hoger
2003 Kurt M. Senske
2004 David Kohlstedt
2004 Michael Swygert
2005 Stephen M. Buente
2005 Randy Carson
2005 Ruth M. Heinig
2005 Heidi A. Michelsen
2005 Richard A. Paul
2005 Larry W. Zimmerman
2006 John Draheim
2006 John Duxbury
2006 Jon Steinbrecher
2007 Linda Allen
2007 James Beyreis
2007 Duane Rabe
2008 John Hoehner
2008 Philip Leege
2009 Carsten Falkenberg
2009 Diana J. Leland
2010 Edythe Abdullah
2010 John Durkovic
2010 Maggie Harris
2010 Christopher Hunt
2010 Keith Kizer
2010 Micheal Rinehart
2011 Gregory Alles
2011 Arthur Burkman
2011 Sally Kohlstedt
2011 Cheryl Schrader
2012 Robert Dixon
2012 Andrew Herrmann
2012 Jeff Raday
2013 Shirley Dorow
2013 Christopher Koetke
2013 Harold Mobley
2013 Beverly Schultz
2013 Stuart Walesh
2014 Erik Hromadka
2014 Janet Schwartz
2015 Dale Ciciora (posthumous)
2015 Bryce Drew
2016 Paul Maechtle
2016 David Yamada
2017 Kathryn Kleinhans
2017 Susan Spaeth
2018 Timothy Duerr
2018 Beckie Ramstack Thompson
2018 Beth Eser Wrobel
2019 Elizabeth Tatro Grossart
2019 Loren Lorig
2019 Richard Pierce
2019 Thomas Rossin
2020 Donald P. Lewis, Jr.
2020 Eugene Schoon
2020 Donna Livingston Streufert
2020 Christine Zrinsky
2021 Mark Guilfoil
2022 Mark Fisher
2022 Luke Gore
2022 Rhoda Grever Schuler
2022 Tiffany Vivo
2023 Natalie Krivas
2023 Lisa Scherzer Polito
2023 Matthew Martin
2024 Jim Lancaster ’91, M.S.
2024 Dot Allwardt ’60 Nuechterlein, M.S.
2024 Beth Orling ’65, M.A., M.Div
2024 Gail Dorothy Ramshaw ’68, Ph.D., D.Div.
2024 Nicholas Skytland ’02, M.S., MBA

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

2001 Robert G. Bryant
2001 Julie M. Meyer
2001 Meg C. Neal Mercer
2002 Amy L. Acton
2002 Kim A. Walesh
2004 Denise Casalino
2005 Loren Rullman
2005 Julia Stepenske
2005 Julie M. Winkler
2006 Christopher Brown
2006 Andrew Nunemaker
2007 Mikko Lipasti
2007 Scott Sanders
2008 Scott Drew
2008 Nick Skytland
2009 Patty Cisneros
2010 Samantha Ahuja
2010 Kimberly Brandt
2011 Katherine Dean
2011 Holly Messick
2012 Ginger Zuidgeest
2013 Jonathan Pasky
2014 Jumah Al–Mazrouie
2014 Joshua Lee
2015 Danielle Carrig
2016 Larry Mowry
2016 Benjeman Nichols
2017 Christine Uptain
2018 Hannah Cartwright
2018 Jason Hallman
2018 Dayna Smoljo Johnson
2019 Michael Allen
2019 Cristal Clark
2020 Sarah Benczik
2020 Neeti Mathur
2020 Erik John “EJ” Ramos
2021 Adam Amin
2021 Homoud Kulaiban
2021 Kristen Kollmann Puchek
2022 James Lockridge
2022 Jaclyn Kollmann Wuebbles
2023 Alexander Uryga
2023 Michael Steffen
2023 Ashley Lindenmier
2024 Kaitlyn Steinhiser ’21
2024 Joshua Wood ’08, M.S., Ph.D.

First Decade Achievement Award

2018 Jonathan Busarow
2018 Meredith Garofalo
2019 Shannon Speaker Chaney
2019 Steven Lehmann
2020 Lindsey Gilman
2020 Andrew Robinson
2021 Abdullah Pratt
2023 Benjamin Macy
2024 Andrew Schrader ’14, M.S., Ph.D.

Alumni Service Award

1965 Albert F. Scribner
1966 Raymond L. Scherer
1967 Richard Pell
1968 Emory Bauer
1968 Paul H. Brandt
1968 Walter R. Schur
1969 James W. Chester
1970 Gilbert A. Krause
1970 Richard C. Oster
1971 George Beto
1971 John Bolgert
1971 Robert C. Moellering
1973 Julius Acker
1973 Louis A. Jacobs
1974 Paul G. Fleck
1974 William R. Tatman
1975 Bette A. Froehlich
1975 Norman Luekens
1975 Arthur D. Wellman
1976 Paul F. Nieter
1976 John P. Schroeder
1977 John P. Sauerman
1977 Herbert E. Steinbach
1978 Elmore L. Boeger
1978 Charles F. Lembke
1979 Walter Christopher
1979 Jacqueline Jungemann
1979 Gary A. Wolfanger
1980 Edward E. Busse
1980 Herbert H. Friese
1981 Joseph W. Bibler
1981 Robert H. Duesenberg
1981 Peter L. Krentz
1981 George P. Mallers
1981 Elmer P. Simon
1981 Herbert F. Stride
1982 Burton O. Bosch
1982 Shirley M. Sauerman
1983 Arthur W. Gray
1983 Don F. Heckler
1984 Jerry P. Knippa
1984 Donald W. C. Stoskopf
1984 Glenn J. Tabor
1985 Dixon W. and Herta E. Benz
1985 Caroline Collings
1985 Philip A. Coote
1985 Stephen E. Gottschalk
1985 Henry G. and Shirley Jud
1985 Beatty R. Julien
1985 Daniel and Beverly Wick
1986 Clyde L. and Patricia A. Berger
1986 Walter J. Kretzmann
1986 James C. and Johanna E. McGill
1986 Dieter H. and Pamela S. Nickel
1987 Larry H. Franzen
1987 Al A. Meitz
1987 Ruth L. Newquist
1987 Arthur Stamm Jr.
1987 Benjamin H. Vogler
1987 Jane C. Wittlinger
1987 Albert W. Zimmermann
1988 Wayne G. Flesch
1988 Dennis G. and Carol A. Oberly
1988 Carol S. Petzold
1988 Roland W. and Sharon Preuss
1989 William A. Bahr
1989 Elizabeth L. Crofford
1989 Arnold Hilgenkamp
1989 Frederick G. Kraegel
1989 Phyllis Schuessler
1990 Janet E. Funk
1990 William R. Heerman
1990 Alan S. and Carolyn E. Morrisson
1990 Susan R. Steinbruecker
1990 Barbara A. Young
1991 Virginia E. Amling
1991 Gary A. Beu
1991 David J. and Martha Hessler
1991 Marilyn L. Krueger
1991 Nils Olaf Lindfors
1991 George H.C. Liu
1991 Howard M. Metzger
1991 Glenn and Gretchen A. Ocock
1991 Robert J. Stroebel
1992 August H. Bernthal
1992 Katharine M. Gerken
1992 George W. and Barbara M. McKissick
1992 Georgiana I. Schroeder
1992 Jon R. and Judy Schumacher
1993 John Krause
1993 Barbara J. Maas
1993 Martha Mattes
1993 Norma J. May
1993 Paula A. Sauer
1993 Robert B. Schuemann
1993 Sylvia A. Straub
1994 Judith A. Michaels
1994 George E. Neeley
1994 Susan L. Rosborough
1995 H. Jeffrey Dobbs
1995 Robert H. and Lorraine F. Duesenberg
1995 Josephine A. Ferguson
1995 L. Jane Lichtfuss
1995 John M. and Sandra A. Oelschlaeger
1995 Alan R. and Judith A. Pretzel
1995 Barbara E. Riethmeier
1995 Joseph P. and Kathryn K. Sauer
1995 Paul C. Thune
1996 Robert M. Cotton
1996 Heather C. McGill
1996 Roger D. Sims
1997 Phyllis E. Duesenberg
1997 Beverly D. Wick
1998 Timothy P. Duerr
1998 Kenneth C. Rakow
1998 Richard Schoenbohm
1998 Margaret A. Zobel
1999 Harold J. Moellering
2000 N. Cornell Boggs III
2001 Lorraine E. Dorough
2002 Marie R. Klugman
2003 Judy A. Mason
2003 Christine M. Zrinsky
2004 Mark Ennes
2004 Cindy Felton
2004 Karen Moseley
2004 Will Reimer
2005 Joel S. Jenkins
2005 R. Razz Jenkins
2005 Thomas R. Marshall
2006 Russell Felten
2006 Sandra Kinsella
2007 Susan Dippold
2007 Janyce Duesenberg
2008 Charles Bischoff
2008 Candace Kilpinen
2009 Norman Echstaedt
2009 Shirley Honold
2009 Edie Hovey
2009 Robert Kirtland
2009 Brad Pierce
2010 Linda Deal
2010 Rebecca Duesenberg
2010 Heidi Jark
2011 Laura Brothers
2011 Robert Grossart
2011 Carolyn Hanes
2011 Molly Kelly
2011 Bruce Lindner
2011 Mike Rickman
2011 Mark Rutherford
2011 David Valentine
2012 Rhoda Decatur
2012 Paul Jud
2013 Lewis Bolitho (Posthumous)
2013 Kenneth Kastman
2013 David Samber
2013 Eugene Schoon
2014 Linda Ertel
2014 Thomas Madden
2015 J.P. Avila
2015 Deb Evans
2015 David Hollenbeck
2015 Susan Zimmerman
2016 Kathryn Hronec Anderson
2016 Michael Van Beek
2017 Kathryn Baerwald
2017 Victoria Flood
2017 Dot Nuechterlein
2018 Joe Gillen
2018 Ralph Johnson
2018 Norm Volk
2019 Nathan Gordon
2019 Katharine Wehling
2020 Connie Bretscher
2020 Lindsie Jung Fransen
2020 Lisa Boehm Rice
2021 Jill VanDalen
2021 Claire Rueffer Schoepp
2021 Isaac Schoepp
2022 Michael Nevergall
2023 Frank Costanza
2024 Chelsey Bradford ’16 Gordon, P.E.

Partners in Service

1993 Richard J. and Carolyn R. Blum
1993 Ken and Anne L. Mangelsdorf
1993 William T. and Eunice E. Seeber
1994 Allen L. and Sue E. Burreson
1994 Ralph and Carla M. Ganswindt
1999 Kyle E. Clor
1999 Corliss Marowske
1999 Ross H. and Lois M. Prange
2000 Bob E. and Luanne S. Beumer
2000 Paul W. & Dorothy Lange
2001 Robert P. and Karen E. Grossart
2001 Larry W. and Susan C. Zimmerman
2003 Kenneth C. and Marlene Rakow
2003 Lambert J. and Nita V. Runge
2007 Hank and Kathy Bardenhagen
2009 Martin and Deanna Stritof
2012 Edward and Hildred Tornberg
2013 Timothy and Leslie Paul
2015 Mark and Kathleen Helge
2018 Sylvia and Tom Luekens
2020 Linda Davis Funke and Eric Funke
2021 Linda Olsen Ertel and Tom Ertel

Alumni Community Service Award

2005 Stephen Jenny
2005 Ronald L. Millies
2005 Lois J. Niemier
2008 Diane Paetz
2008 Harriet Redman
2009 Gerri Long
2010 Steven Heronemus
2010 James Ralls
2010 Karen Seykowski
2011 John Albers
2011 Adele Harrison
2011 Ann Rehbein
2011 Michael Rehbein
2012 Ernest Johnson
2014 Jill Schlueter–Kim
2014 Venice Williams
2015 Eugene Hennig
2015 Jeffrey Human
2015 Patricia Krause
2015 Jon Slock
2016 Paul Schreiner
2016 Corrine Vogel
2016 Roger Vogel
2017 Kenneth Bailey
2017 Walter DeMoss
2017 Philip Hahn
2017 Anton Lutz
2018 Lorraine Gaunt Dorough
2018 Martha Selle Hartman
2018 Ted Hartman
2019 Elizabeth Hecht DeMik
2019 Thomas DeMik
2019 Jess Hunter–Bowman
2019 Kathleen Ulm
2020 Diane Marten
2020 Dolores "Lorrie" Spruth Woycik
2021 Kimberly Krenzke Eveler
2021 Thomas Serratore
2022 Kristen Bruner Baltrum
2022 Mitchell Peters
2023 Laurie Horlock Dayon
2023 Cheryl Lapain Plummer
2023 Pete Land
2024 Scott Roller ’94, M.S.

O.P. Kretzmann Award

1982 Alfred R. Looman
1988 Arlene E. Laesch
1988 Robert Springsteen
1989 Fred W. Kruger
1989 Paul E. Thune
1990 Richard P. Koenig
1992 Melvin H.. Doering
1993 William V. Domke
1994 Max Nagel
1995 Donald R. Peters
1995 Dolores M. Ruosch
1999 Bette J. Galow
1999 John "Jack" A. Ohlfest
1999 Robert E. Schroer
2000 Rebecca L. Balko
2000 Vernon Hislope
2000 Ellen R. Meyer
2001 Cynthia K. Mueller
2003 Gail Eifrig
2003 Dorothy R. Herscher
2003 Jane S. Lohmeyer
2003 Edgar J. Luecke
2004 Bill Karpenko
2005 Lou Jeanne Walton
2006 Charlotte Strahm
2008 Joanne Albers
2008 Wesley Maiers
2009 Esther Kruger
2009 Sally Ochoa
2009 Stephanie Umbach
2010 Joel Lehmann
2010 John Steffen
2010 Katharine Wehling
2011 John Feaster
2011 Dale Kempf
2011 Warren Kosman
2011 William Schoech
2011 Albert Trost
2011 Ann Trost
2012 John Bernthal
2012 James Kingsland
2013 Gene Evans
2013 Daniel Hart
2013 Douglas Kocher
2013 Phyllis Schroeder
2014 Bruce Berner
2014 Barbara Gaebel–Morgan
2014 Sylvia Luekens
2014 Phyllis Schroeder
2015 Elise Alverson
2015 Linda Whitton
2016 Mel Piehl
2018 Margaret Franson
2018 Marcia Gienapp
2018 Robert Palumbo
2019 Derrick Carter
2019 Curt Cichowski
2019 Jeanie Ensinger Johnson
2019 Mark Schwehn
2020 Rosalie Levinson
2020 Janet Lockridge
2020 Jeffrey Brown
2020 Gail Peshel
2020 Suzanne Zentz
2023 Judith Miller
2023 Kim Genovese
2023 Cynthia Felton
2023 Cheryl Slack
2024 Jon Kilpinen ’88, Ph.D.

Honorary Alumni

1958 O.P. Kretzmann
1959 Walter G. Friedrich
1960 John A. Sauerman
1961 Oliver R. Harms
1961 Frederick A. Reddel
1962 Sophia D. Heidbrink
1962 Karl H. Henrichs
1963 Harry G. Barr
1963 Louise F. Nicolay
1964 Herman C. Hesse
1964 Paul E. Rupprecht
1965 M. Alfred Bichsel
1965 Frank Schwarz
1966 Walter E. Bauer
1967 Alfred Mayer
1968 John A. Morland
1968 Frederick Rechlin
1968 Bernice Ruprecht
1969 Albert G. Huegli
1970 Allen E. Tuttle
1971 Luetta Henrichs
1971 Ewald H. Mueller
1971 Joan S. Mueller
1971 Dana Schwanholt
1972 Mabel Frank
1972 Louis A. Wehling
1973 Erwin E. Goehring
1973 Vera T. Hahn
1974 Wilma O. Jacobs
1974 Margaretta Tangerman
1975 Theodore Hoelty–Nickel
1975 A. J.W. LeBien
1975 Elfrieda M. LeBien
1975 Beata P. Madoerin
1976 B. Gene Bartow
1976 Henry J. Moellering
1977 Emmett Dedmon
1977 Helen G. Hesse
1977 Rae M. Huegli
1977 Henry J. Neils
1977 Lydia S. Ohlson
1977 Edward A. Seegers
1978 Alfred E. Jordan
1978 Edwin H. Koeneman
1978 Helen M. Koeneman
1978 Rudolph E. Rehmer
1979 Ellen E. Schnabel
1979 Robert V. Schnabel
1980 Holger G. Cattau
1980 E. Stanley Enlund
1980 Leslie F. Frerking
1980 Harlan Hartner
1980 Karl E. Lutze
1980 Esther M. Lutze
1980 Arthur S. Malasto
1980 Armin C. Oldsen
1980 A. Clara and Spencer Werner
1981 Vincent V. Anderson
1981 Harold G. Bernthal
1981 Eleanor R. Koenig
1981 Betty Kretzmann
1981 Russell J. Matthias
1981 Elenora Pennekamp
1981 Willard A. and Leitha Richardson
1982 J. M. (Jacobi Melius) Christiansen
1982 Charles A. LaToza
1982 Priscilla E. Nagel
1982 Robert S. Teibel, Sr.
1983 Wilbur H. Hutchins
1983 Tom Lasorda
1983 Leo J. McAuliffe
1984 Philip K. Gehring
1984 David L. Litten
1984 Jane M. Looman
1984 Ella B. Pelz
1984 Irma K. Schmalz
1984 Kenneth G. Suesens
1985 Victor J. Dankis
1985 Rupert and Ruth E. Dunklau
1985 Paul W. Lange
1985 Orville C. Redenbacher
1986 Dorathy E. Heffernan
1986 Emil Jochum
1986 Russell H. & Lucille Lochmann
1986 Walter W. Stuenkel
1987 Doreen I. Gray
1987 Bernhard Hillila
1987 Harvey D. Lange
1987 Ruth Russler
1987 Robert L. Zimmer
1988 John H. Barcroft
1988 Vi Brelje
1988 Charles E. Laue
1988 Martha E. Schmidt
1989 Donald L. Baeder
1989 Marilyn L. Bahls
1989 Alan F. and Diane C. Harre
1989 J. Ron McLeod
1991 Frederick E. Schmid
1991 Barbara Wilson
1992 Ralph P. Betker
1992 Ernest J. Dossin
1993 Willis Boyd
1993 Carlos Messerli
1993 V. Hugo Schmidt
1993 John R. Steinbruck
1994 Hannah E. "Betsy" Bird
1995 Charles W. Dull
1995 Harley W. Snyder Jr.
1995 Charles P. Welter
1995 Donna D. Welter
1995 Wayne B. Welter
1996 Victor Freudenberg
1996 Henry and Laura Prahl
1997 David A. Kruse
1998 Harold Russert
2001 Frank Sullivan Jr.
2002 John Mason
2003 Thomas DeMik
2004 Clarence Hamann
2004 Robert Wennerstrom
2004 Robert Woiwod
2006 Lois Mitchum
2007 Debbi Miner
2008 Mark Heckler
2008 Veronica Heckler
2008 Sandy Paukner
2010 Susan Bolitho
2011 Richard Baepler
2011 Dawn Rickman
2012 Raymond Clark
2012 Jerry Wagenblast
2015 Norm Amundsen
2015 Suman Das
2018 Janet Brown
2018 Todd Ickow
2021 Edgar Senne
2022 Mark LaBarbera
2022 Mark Wilson

More Information

Award Descriptions

The VUAA recognizes alumni in eight different areas of achievement and non–alumni can be nominated for an Honorary Alumni Membership Award.

The Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award is the highest distinction the alumni association can bestow. This award honors alumni who have enhanced the prestige of the University by virtue of their character, integrity, and nationally recognized personal accomplishments.

The Alumni Achievement Award honors alumni who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their chosen career or area of professional life.

The Outstanding Young Alumnus/Alumna Award honors alumni, under the age of 40, who have enhanced the prestige of the University by virtue of their character, integrity, and personal accomplishments.

The First Decade Achievement Award honors an alumnus/alumna for outstanding professional achievement, community service, and or service to the University during the first decade following the completion of his/her undergraduate degree. Alumni are eligible for this award in their 10th reunion year. (NEW AWARD STARTING IN 2018)

The Alumni Service Award recognizes alumni who have rendered outstanding service to the University.

The Partners in Service Award honors individuals who have worked jointly to render significant service to the University, with at least one of the individuals being a Valparaiso University alumnus/alumna.

The Alumni Community Service Award honors alumni who have enhanced the prestige of the University by virtue of their character and integrity through outstanding service in their community, including religious, civic, or charitable organizations or programs, either local or national in scope and structure.

The O.P. Kretzmann Award honors alumni who have made a special contribution to the development of Valpo through long–time and exemplary service as a University employee for at least 15 years.

Honorary Alumni Membership is granted to persons who are not alumni, but who exemplify the ideals of achievement and service in their association with the University.

Selection and Nominations

Selection Process

The Valparaiso University Alumni Association solicits nominations for the awards from all alumni, former award recipients, and other members of the University community. An alumni award committee comprised of the VUAA Board of Directors reviews the materials submitted for each candidate and selects nominees whose achievements fit the category for which they have been nominated and who are deemed most deserving of recognition. The names of those selected are then recommended to the Association's Board of Directors for action.

The deliberations of the awards committee and the board are kept confidential. Those individuals chosen to receive awards will be honored during the Homecoming and Family Weekend awards dinner.

Alumni enrolled at or employed by the University and voting members of the University's Board of Directors and the Association's Board of Directors are not eligible.

Nominations

Nominations may be submitted electronically or by mail (see below). Your nomination should include:

A completed nomination form with your name and address and that of your nominee and her or his supporters.
The candidate's curriculum vitae or resume (if available), plus any other information you feel will be relevant to the committee's decision.
Two letters of support (required) from others who know your nominee and of her or his accomplishments (see below for more information).

Letters of Support

Two letters of support are required. You can either provide the letters with your nomination packet or ask supporters to send their letters directly to the Valparaiso University Alumni Association address below. Please share the criteria for the awards and the suggestions listed below with those writing letters in support of your nominee.

Supporters should answer the same basic questions:

What is your relationship to the candidate, and how have you gained your knowledge of her or his accomplishments?
Which of your candidate's achievements fulfill the criteria for one of the Valparaiso University Alumni Association awards?
What impact has your candidate had on the profession, service, or community in which he/she has been active? In general terms, please explain the impact of the candidate's work.
Do you know what relationship the individual has maintained with the University, its faculty, students, or other alumni since graduation?
Has your candidate's work had an influence on the broader community beyond her or his own sphere of vocational or volunteer achievement?
Why is this an appropriate time for the individual's achievements to be recognized?

Submitting Your Nominations

Nominations form, letters of support (required) and other supporting materials (recommended) may be submitted electronically or by mail.

Mail

Valparaiso University
Career & Alumni Network
VUAA Award Committee
1509 Chapel Dr.
Valparaiso, IN 46383

vuaa.awards@valpo.edu

Click here for a downloadable version of the Nomination Form.

Nominations must remain confidential. Please do not inform candidates that they have been nominated, since only a limited number of awards are presented each year.

Have questions?

Career & Alumni Network
Tel: 219.464.5537
Email: vuaa.awards@valpo.edu