Distinguished Alumni Service Award

The highest honor given to alumni

Each year, Indiana University recognizes outstanding alumni with the Distinguished Alumni Service Award, the highest accolade reserved solely for alumni. The awardees are leaders in their chosen fields who make significant contributions benefiting their community, state, nation, or university.

Since 1953, DASA recipients—collectively known as the DASA Club—have donated more than $2 million in support of scholarships and grants to hundreds of exceptional IU students. To learn more about the DASA club, please contact Nattie Meador at ndmeador@iu.edu or 812-856-7501.

Nominate an alum for the DASA

Do you know an alum whose service, accomplishments, philanthropy, or contributions to the university and the Alumni Association deserve special recognition? Here are several ways you can nominate outstanding alumni.

Purpose

The purpose of the Distinguished Alumni Service Award is to provide recognition for outstanding achievements by alumni of Indiana University.

Eligibility for Award

  • Only living alumni of Indiana University are eligible. For purposes of definition, an alumnus is any person who shall have regularly enrolled in any school of Indiana University, or any of its predecessors, and who has remained in attendance at least one semester, and who has earned at least 12 credit hours toward a degree.
  • The nominee shall have been outstanding in his/her chosen field of endeavor and/or the nominee shall have made significant contributions benefiting his/her community, state, nation, or university.

Note: Since the present rules were approved in 1974 the Selection Committee, because of the original intent of the award, has not seen fit to select a nominee from the faculty and staff of Indiana University who is still on the active payroll, current IU trustee, or a person currently holding a high political office.

Nature of the Award

The award shall consist of a medallion and an illuminated parchment.

Nominations

  • Nominations may be submitted by 1.) Any school of Indiana University 2.) Any alumnus of Indiana University 3.) Any faculty or staff member of Indiana University.
  • All nominations may be electronically submitted on the DASA website. To request a paper or PDF nomination form, please contact Jacquelyn Beane at jibeane@iu.edu or 812-855-7352. Nominations must be accompanied by complete biographical and other pertinent information. At least two letters outlining candidate achievements are required by the nominator and/or other interested individuals.
  • Regular nomination forms shall be used and may be secured from the IU Alumni Office or DASA website.
  • Nomination forms and supporting materials must be submitted on the DASA website page or in a sealed envelope and postmarked no later than midnight, March 31.
  • All nominations submitted in writing shall be addressed to: Coordinator, DASA Alumni Awards, c/o CEO, Indiana University Alumni Association, Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, 1000 East 17th Street, Bloomington, IN 47408-1521.
  • All nominations for the award will automatically be valid for the next two successive years. After that they must be resubmitted.

Selection of the Recipients

  • The Alumni Awards Committee shall be composed of seven members, five of whom shall be alumni of Indiana University and two who shall be faculty and/or staff members of Indiana University. Members of the Executive Council of the Indiana University Alumni Association shall not be eligible for membership.
  • It shall be the duty of the Alumni Awards Committee to make the final selection of those to receive the award and to forward to the President of Indiana University for him/her to notify recipients.
  • The alumni members of the Alumni Awards Committee shall be appointed by the chairperson of the Indiana University Alumni Association, and the members representing the university shall be appointed by the president of Indiana University. Members of the committee shall select the chairperson.
  • Each member of the committee shall serve a term of three (3) years. The terms of the alumni members of the original committee shall be as follows: two members for three years, two members for two years, and one member for one year. The terms of the university members shall be one member for three years, one member for two years, and none for one year. Thereafter, all terms shall expire in that order.
  • The CEO of the Indiana University Alumni Association shall be the secretary and a nonvoting member of the committee.

Recipients

  • The Executive Council of the Alumni Association strongly suggests the awards be made to individuals in as many fields of endeavor as possible. (Law, medicine, business, science, music, etc.)
  • The awards shall be given at the annual meeting/dinner in conjunction with the Student Grant & Scholarship Luncheon. The recipients shall be announced shortly before that date.
  • Award recipients must be present at the annual meeting/dinner for the DASA presentation unless death or illness following their selection and acceptance occurs.
  • A limit of one award per year may be given at a commencement ceremony as an exception to the annual awards at the university ceremony.
Submit an online nomination

Nomination forms and supporting materials must be submitted online or by mail, postmarked by midnight, March 31. Nominations received after that date will be considered for the following year.

Past DASA recipients

** denotes deceased recipient

  • Abrahamson, Shirley Schlanger, JD’56, LLD Hon’86
  • Adams, Mildred P., BS’48, MS’52, EdD’64 **
  • Alltop, J. Howard, Sr., BA’29 **
  • Anderson, Hanson H., BA 1911, MA’29 **
  • Anderson, Kathy, BS’71   
  • Ando, Kaoru, BS’36, LLD’80 **
  • Armstrong, Lewis S., BS’26 **
  • Armstrong, William S., BA’51 **
  • Atkins, Thomas I., BA’61 **
  • Atkinson, George H., PhD’71
  • Baker, Laurence D., BA 1918 **
  • Baldwin, William R., MS’56, PhD’65
  • Balfour, Lloyd G., LLB 1907, LLD’66 **
  • Ball, Mildred Morgan, BS’60  
  • Banks, Glenn L., BS’50 
  • Barker, Sarah Evans, BS’65, LLD’99 
  • Barnes, David K., MA’44, PhD’47 **
  • Barnett, John V., Sr., ’34 **
  • Barnhart, Dean L., BA 1911 **
  • Barnhart, Hugh A., BA 1915 **
  • Barr, John A., LLB’30, LLD’73 **
  • Barton, Miles S., DDS’33 **
  • Bayh, Birch Evans, Jr., JD’60, LLD’95  
  • Bays, Karl D., MBA’58 **
  • Beckley, Kenneth A., BS’62  
  • Begdes, Mehmet Kutsi, MA’40, PhD’44 **
  • Bell, Joshua D. ArtD’89
  • Berry, Lillian Gay, BA 1899, MA 1905 **
  • Bingham, Rebecca Taylor, BS’50, MLS’69
  • Black, Joseph M., BA’41, MD’44 **
  • Bluhm, Maurice L., BA 1913 
  • Boone, Clarence W., Sr., BA’53, MD’56 
  • Booth, Kathryn R., BS’72  
    Botti, Chris R., ’84
  • Bowen, Otis R., BA’39, MD’42, LLD’76 **
    Brantly, Kent P., MD’09
  • Bray, Esther D., BS’25, MA’27 **
  • Breckenridge, Cora, BS’59, MS’63 
  • Brinkman, P. Delbert, MA’63, PhD’71
  • Brown. Angela M., ’86
  • Bundles, S. Henry, Jr.  BA’48 
  • Butcher, Jane Bayer, BA’37 **
  • Butcher, Joseph O., BA’36 **
  • Cadou, Eugene J., Sr., BA 1917 **
  • Carmichael, Hoagy H. LLB’26, DM Hon’72 **
  • Carmichael, William P., BS’65  
  • Carmony, Donald F., MA’31, PhD’40 **
  • Carr, Willard Z., Jr., LLB’50
  • Carroll, William F., Jr., PhD’78
  • Chamness, Ivy L., BA 1916, MA’28 **
  • Clapacs, J. Terry, BS’65, MBA’69
  • Clevenger, Zora G., 1904 **
    Cole, Roselyn R., BS’60
  • Comer, James P., BA’56, ScD’91
  • Conrad, Martin L., BA’21 **
  • Cook, Gayle Karch, BA’56, LHD’93
  • Cosner, Robert R., BS’41 ** 
  • Cox, Jesse H., BS’44 **
  • Cozad, James W., BS’50, LLD’82 **
  • Cressey, Donald R., PhD’50 **

** denotes deceased recipient

  • Danielson, Donald C., BS’42, LLD’94 **
  • Danielson, Patricia Peterson, BA’45 **
  • Dant, Charles G., BS’32 **
  • Davis, Chester E., BS’44 **
  • Davis, Madelyn Pugh, BA’42 **
  • Davis, Merrill S., BA 1912, MD 1914 **
  • Dawson, Martha E., MS’54, EdD’56 
  • De Las Alas, Antonio, LLB 1908 **
  • Dean, Everett S., BA’21, MS’38 **
  • DeCoudreaux, Alecia A., JD’78
  • Deggans, Eric C., BA’90
  • Delachaux, Francois, MBA’63 
  • DeVault, Virgil T., BS’27, MD’29, DSc’77 **
  • Dillin, S. Hugh, BA’36, LLB’38, LLD’92 **
  • Doninger, Clarence H., BS’57, JD’60 
  • Doster, Gayl, BS’60 
  • Duggan, Andrew M., ’45 **
  • Dukes, Betty D., BA’41, MD’43 **
  • Dunn, Oscar L., BS’36, LLD’71 **
  • Dutton, C. Ben, BS’38, LLB’40, LLD’70 **
  • Dykhuizen, Fred, BS’26 **
  • Earnhart, Don B., BS’49, LLD’86 **
  • Edmondson, Frank K., BA’33, MA’34 **
  • Edwards, Edward E., BS’28, MS’34 **
  • Eichhorn, Frederick F., BS’52, JD’57 **
  • Elliott, Byron K., BA’20, LLD’55 **
  • Ellis, Frances H., BA 1914, MA’28 **
  • Ellis, Larry R., MS’75 
  • Elmore, David G., BS’55, JD’58 
  • Enberg, Richard "Dick", MS’59, HD’62 
  • Eschbach, Jesse E., II, BS’43, JD’49, LLD’86 **
  • Eskew, Philip N., Sr., MS’33 **
  • Estes, Sidney H., EdD’67 **
  • Evans, Daniel F., Jr., BA’71, JD’76
  • Evans, H. Dean, EdD’66 **
  • Everitt, Robert H., BS’61, LLB’65 
  • Ferguson, Curt, BS’80
  • Ferree, E. Mark, LLD’77 **
  • Ferrey, Edgar E., BA’42 **
  • Fidlar, Marion M., BA’34, MA’36, PhD’42 **
  • Fletchall, Eugene D., BS’32, LLB’34 **
  • Franklin, Joseph A., Sr., BS’27 **
  • Frick, David R., BA’66 
  • Friedlander, Ezra "Zeke", BA’62, LLB’65 
  • Frowick, Robert H., BA’53, MA’57 **
  • Fuller, Magdalene Z., BSN’59, MSN’60 **
  • Fullmer, Harold M., BS’42, DDS’44 **

** denotes deceased recipient

  • Gassoway-Reichle, Lynn E., DDS’74
  • Gates, Robert E., BS’42, LLB’49 **
  • Geiger, Dillon D., BS’29, MD’31 **
  • Gill, George N., BA’57, LHD’94 **
  • Gill, Jack M., PhD’63, DSc’01
  • Gilliatt, Neal, BS’39 **
  • Gilman, Alan B., BA’52, MBA’54
  • Glaubinger, Lawrence D., BS’49, LLD’93 **
  • Goggans, Louise, BA’56, MS’69, MedScD'82
  • Gonso, Harry L., BS’70, JD’73
  • Gosman, James H., BS’36, MD’38 **
  • Gramley, Lyle E., MA’52, PhD’56, LLD’84 **
  • Gray, Carl M., LLB’61, LLD’81 **
    Gray, Moses W., BS’69
  • Greenough, William C., BA’35, LLD’66 **
  • Grimes, John S., BA’29, JD’31 **
  • Guthrie, Wayne, LLB’20 **
  • Gutwein, Matthew R., BA’85, JD’88
  • Hackett, John Thomas, BS’54, MBA’58 **
  • Halleck, Charles A., BA’22, LLB’24, LLD’65 **
  • Hardy, Ruth Herdrich, BA 1915 **
  • Harker, Russell P., BA 1912, LLB 1913, JD’67 **
  • Harlos, Cecil E., BS’23 **
  • Harrell, Charles E., BA’33, LLB’36 **
  • Harris, William H., MA’67, PhD’73
  • Harrison, Ann Shilling, BS’67
  • Hasbrook, Thomas C., BS’42 **
  • Hatcher, Richard G., BS’56
  • Haugh, Robert C., BA’48 **
  • Hawkins, Grant W., Sr., BA’33 **
  • Hawkins, Howard R., BS’38, JD’41 **
  • Hayes, Joseph A., ’42, LHD’70 **
  • Heckard, Mary E., GN’21 **
  • Heffernan, Joseph V., JD’30 **
  • Hendricks, Cecilia Hennel, BA 1907, MA 1908 **
  • Herold, Don, BA 1913 **
  • Hertzer, Norman R., BA’64, MD’67
  • Hickam, Hubert, LLB’13 **
  • Hill, John W., LLD’71 **
  • Hill, Patton J., Sr., BA’20, MA’34 **
  • Hillis, Elwood H., BS’49, JD’52
  • Hillis, Margaret E., BM’47, DM’72 **
  • Holland, James P., MA’58, PhD’61 **
  • Hornbostel, Charles C., BS’34 **
  • Hsie, Abraham W., MA’65, PhD’69 **
  • Hurst, Mercedes, BA’24 **
  • Hutton, Edward L., BS’40, MS’41, LLD’92 **
  • Inman, Garnett, BS’40 **
  • Inskeep, Harriett Simmons, BA’48, MA’55, LHD’96
  • Inskeep, Richard G., BS’50, LHD’06 **
  • Irwin, Glenn W., Jr., BS’42, MD’44, LLD’86 **

** denotes deceased recipient

  • Jacobs, David H., Jr., ’76
  • James, Daniel, BA’27, JD’29 **
  • Jasper, Paul G., LLB’32 **
  • Johnson, Fred Bates, BA 1902, LLB 1910 **
  • Johnson, George A., BA’15 **
  • Johnson, Lacy, JD’81
  • Johnson, Richard L., BS’55 **
  • Jones, Booker T., Jr., BME’67, DM Hon’12
  • Jones, Eli S., BA 1914, MD 1916 **
  • Jones, Frank B., BS’48, MS’51 **
  • Jordan, Harold W., BS’32 **
    Jordan-Miles, Alice M., BA’90, MS’97
  • Jorgensen, Jane M., BS’72
  • Keck, William H., BS’41 **
  • Keith, Leroy, Jr., MS’69, EdD’70
  • Kelley, Estel W., BS’39, LLD’71 **
  • Kettler, Edgar F., BS’48 **
  • Kidd, Robert Louis, BA’23, LLD’66 **
  • Kim, Young-Jin, MBA’84
  • Kimberling, John F., BA’47, JD’50 **
  • Kintner, Earl W., JD’38 **
  • Kipp, Albrecht R.C., BA 1906 **
  • Knapp, Sandy Altman, BS’70
  • Lansing, Dorothy I., BA’44, MD’47 **
  • Laskin, Daniel M., BS/DDS’47, DSc’01
  • Leff, Dale Stark, BS’69
  • Lennon, Polly Jontz, BA’49 **
  • Lesher, Richard L., DBA’63, LLD’79
  • LeSuer, William M., PhD’48 **
  • Ligocki, Kathleen, BA’78, LHD’02
  • Lindley, Ernest K., ’20 **
  • Lindsey, J. Frank, LLB 1913 
  • Lofton, Thomas M., BS’51, JD’54, LLD’00
  • Long, Clarence W., BS’39 **
  • Lucas, Robert A., BS’43, JD’49, LLD’94 **

** denotes deceased recipient

  • Maroon, Joseph C., BA’62, MD’65
  • Marshall, Edwin Cochran, BA’68, BS’70, OD’71, MS’79
  • Martin, Wallace H., BA 1917 **
  • Masters, Keith, BA’25 **
  • Mathers, Thomas N., BA’36, LLB’39 **
  • Maurer, Mary Rieman, BA 1916, LLD’67 **
  • Maurer, Michael S., JD’67
  • Mays, Rose, MS’74
  • Mays, William G., BA’70, MBA’73, DSc’00 **
  • McCarty, C. Walter, 1915 **
  • McCarty, Virginia Dill, BA’46, LLB’50, LLD’86 **
  • McGee, James, BA’77
  • McGreevey, John W., LHD’86, BA’87 **
  • McMurtrie, Uz, BA 1908 **
  • Meister-Armington, Irene W., BA’48, MA’49
  • Metz, Arthur R., BA 1909 **
  • Miles, Richard M., MA’64
  • Miller, Arthur L., BA’22 **
  • Miller, Jeanne S., BA’46, LLB’48, LLD’89
  • Miller, Patricia R., BS’60
  • Miller, Peggy Gordon Elliott, EdD’75
  • Miller, Samuel Hudson, BS’38 **
  • Miller, Thomas M., BS’52 **
  • Mitchell-Kernan, Claudia I., BA’63, MA’65
  • Mobley, Tony A., MS’62, ReD’65
  • Mogge, Arthur R., BA’19 **
  • Morgan, Dolores A., MD’68 **
  • Morris, James T., BA’65
  • Muhler, Joseph C., BS’47, DDS’48, PhD’52 **
  • Murray, Dwight H., MD 1917 **
  • Neal, Homer A., BS’61, DSc’84
  • Neff, Robert E., BA 1911 **
  • Nelms, Charlie, MS’71, EdD’77
  • Nelson, Alice McDonald, ’24 **
  • Nettl, Bruno, BA’50, MA’51, PhD’53
  • Newsom, Herschel D., BA’26 **
  • Nolan, Val, Jr., BA’41, JD’49 **
  • Nyland, Georgia Belle, GN’42 **
  • O’Bannon, Judith A., BS’57, LHD’04

** denotes deceased recipient

  • Paige, Roderick, MS’62, PED’70
  • Patrick, James E., BS’41, LLD’66 **
  • Pauley, Jane, BA’72, LHD’96
    Pavy, Raymond E., BS’65
  • Pell, Wilbur F., Jr., BA’37, LLD’81 **
  • Peterson, J. Dwight, BA 1919, LLD’66 **
  • Pfau, Norman E., Jr., BS’65
  • Piercy, Josephine K., BA 1918, MA 1919 **
  • Pinnell, W. George, DBA’54 **
  • Poling, Harold A., MBA’51, LLD’90 **
  • Popoff, Frank P., BA/MBA’59, DSc’88
  • Powell, Alma C., BS’70, MS’72
  • Poynter, Nelson Paul, BA’24, LLD’76 **
  • Raper, Howard R., DDS 1906 **
  • Rapp, George F., MD’57
  • Redding, Gerald Raymond, BS’26, JD’28 **
  • Reed, Philip B., BS’28, MD’30, MD’32 **
    Reed, Richard A., BSW’95, MSW’96
  • Reed, Vergil D., BS’22 **
  • Renuart, Victor E., Jr., BS’71
  • Rice, Joe C., BA’27, MS’36 **
  • Rich, Claude T., BA’29 **
  • Richardson, David B., BA’40 **
  • Richardson, Dow L., BA’28, LLD’82 **
  • Richardson, Jeff, BA’73, JD’77, MPA’81
    Richardson, John F., BA’73, JD’77, MPA’81
  • Ritchey, James O., BS 1916, MD 1918, MS’21, DSc’70 **
  • Robbins, D. Walter, Jr., BS’42, MS’43 **
  • Robinson, Adam M., Jr., BA’72, MD’76, LHD’10
  • Robinson, James J., BA 1914 **
  • Robinson, Ray E., MM’58, DME’69 **
  • Rothrock, David A., Jr., BA/MA’32 **
  • Rowland, Sallie W., BS’54
  • Ruckelshaus, Jill S., BA’58
  • Russell, Joseph J., MS’68, EdD’71
  • Ryan, D. Patricia, BA’79
  • Ryan, John Michael, Sr., JD’48 **
  • Ryan, John William, MA/PhD’59, LLD’88 **

** denotes deceased recipient

  • Sanders, James Leroy, 1905 **
  • Schilling, George A., BA 1915, LLB 1916 **
    Schofield, Lorna G., BA’77
  • Scott, Gloria Dean Randle, BA’59, MA’60, PhD’65, LLD’77
  • Searles, Richard C., BA’70
  • Seward, Doris M., BA’38 **
  • Shackelford, Harry M., BA 1917 **
  • Shanks, Robert Horton, BS’54
  • Shields, V. Sue, LLB’61
  • Shine, J. Robert, BS’45, LLD’95
  • Shortz, William, BA’74
  • Showalter, Grace Montgomery, BA 1915, LLD’67 **
  • Shumate, Michael D., BS’67
  • Simic, Curt, BS’64
  • Smith, Darwin Eatna, BS’50 **
  • Smith, George P., II, BS’61, JD’64, LLD’98
  • Smith, Johnnie Rutland, MS’31, PhD’34 **
  • Souder, Wilmer, BA 1910, MA 1911 **
  • Spaletto, Todd, BS’93
  • Sparks, William J., BA’26, MA’29, DSc’66 **
  • Steckler, William E., LLB’36, JD’37 **
  • Steele, Ruel W., LLB’48 **
  • Steele, Sage, BS'95
  • Steen, Lowell H., M.D., BS’45, MD’48
  • Steingraber, Fred G., BS’60
  • Stempel, John E., BA’23 **
  • Stewart, Milton R., BA’68, JD’71
  • Stokes, Lillian S., MSN’69, PhD’98 **
  • Stoner, Richard B., BS’41, LLD’94 **
  • Stout, Juanita Kidd, JD’48, LLM’54, LLD’66 **
  • Strack, William N., BA 1915, LLB 1917 **
  • Summers, Paul R., BA/LLB’23 **
  • Summers, Phillip M., BS’60, MS’63 **
  • Talbot, Sue H., BS’66, MS’71, EdD’92
  • Taliaferro, George, BS’51
  • Taliaferro, Viola, JD’77
  • Tamthai, Pusadee P., MS’75, PhD’82
  • Tangerman, Margaretta S., BA’46 **
  • Tash, Paul, BA’76
  • Taylor, Jeri, BA’59, LHD’07
  • Teter, Nellie Showers, BA 1893 **
  • Thomas, Isiah L., BA’87
  • Thornburg, James F., JD’36 **
  • Thorne, Muriel M., BA’46, MA’50 **
  • Timmons, Gerald D., DDS’25 **
  • Tobias, Randall Lee, BS’64, LLD’97
  • Torres, Isaac P., MBA’00
  • Troutt, Martha Lute, BA 1918, MA’28 **
  • Utley, Robert M., MA’52, LHD’83

** denotes deceased recipient

  • Van Tassel, Charles J., Jr., MD’46 **
  • Veller, Don A., BS’35, MS’38, PEDir’47, PED’50 **
  • Veneracion, Andrea O., MM’62 **
  • Volker, Joseph F., DDS’36, DSc’70 **
  • Von Tress, Edward C., BA’21 **
  • Votaw, Verling M., BA’25, MA’26 **
  • Wahl, Cecilia H., BA’38 **
  • Walker, Austin E., MS’48 **
  • Walther, Joseph E., BS/MD’36, DSc’97 **
  • Watson, Bernard C., BS’51
  • Waymire, Joseph O., BS’29 **
  • Weathers, Gertrude Force, BA 1918, MA’30 **
  • Webb, Charles H., DM’64
  • Webb, Ronald J., BS’60
  • Wedeking, Albert J., BA 1913, MA 1915 **
  • Weigand, James E., EdD’64 **
  • Welch, R. Dewey, BS’52 **
  • Wells, Herman B, BS’24, MA’27, LLD’62 **
  • Wentworth, Jack R., BS’50, MBA’54, DBA’59 **
  • Whitlock, Douglas, BS’26, LLB’28 **
  • Wilcox, Howard S., Sr., BA’42 **
  • Williams, Edgar G., MBA’48, DBA’52 **
  • Wilson, Harrison B., Jr., MS’51, HSDir’55, HSD’60
  • Wilson, Lucia Showalter, BA’22 **
  • Wilson, Milton, MCS’45, DCS’51 **
  • Windes, Charles Dudley, LLB 1914 **
  • Wong, Desmond C., BS’73
  • Wylie, David G., BS’23 **
  • Young, Grace Philputt, BA 1908, MA 1914 **
  • Young, John L., BS’21 **
Watch videos about past recipients

DASA Club Scholarship

Since 1953, IU’s DASA recipients—collectively known as the DASA Club—have donated more than $2 million in support of scholarships and grants to deserving IU students.

The DASA Club Scholarship is awarded to seniors from each IU campus who demonstrate a financial need and high academic achievement. There is no application process. A committee of representatives from the IU Alumni Association, the IU Office of Scholarships, and each of the campuses’ financial aid offices nominates and selects the recipients.

Learn more, and see other available scholarships.