Description of the following video:

Chris Botti:

I went to jazz camp in San Jose, California, and one of the teachers there was the legendary David Baker. And, it's solely because of his charisma and his passion and his love of music that made me go I want to go to Indiana.

Narrator:

Chris Botti captivates audiences with his stylized harmonies on stages across the world. Yet, still he bears in mind that his instruction at Indiana University honed his passion into a promising future.

Chris:

I think one of the things that makes IU so brilliant, you're isolated with brilliant teachers, and brilliant musicians. My trumpet teacher Mr. Bill Adams, William Adams, just past couple years ago and David Baker. I mean they you know they instilled this incredible jazz and trumpet work ethic. The incubation of that, that system and the serenity of that school and the history of the great music legacy at IU that makes it a perfect perfect environment for a young person.

Gwyn Richards David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean, IU Jacobs School of Music:

This is a deeply grateful individual who knows what shaping forces intersected with his life and transformed it. He does what he does because he sees the vehicle that music is. For the power of its expression. Which is its power to transform, to communicate, its ability to bring people together, to cross genres.

Narrator:

Chris Botti is considered to be a musician's musician. His transformational trumpet playing crosses over many genres. Leading Chris to a career earmarked with many great collaborations with other world-renowned artists. These experiences have made Chris both humbled and thankful.

Chris:

Feeling unbelievable amount of gratitude for where I am now and and not wanting to lose this. Really find it a very fortunate thing be able to travel the world with the band that I'm with, but it's an all-star group and and and be able to do that and tour the way we do some awesome thing.

Narrator:

Chris tours 250 days of the year and is at the top of his profession yet he still puts forth the effort of someone just beginning in his field.

Chris:

I still get up every morning and I walk to a music school because it reminds me of being at IU, and I lock myself in the room for 4 or 5 hours a day. I love the hearing the noises of the other people practicing its kind of motivating.

Narrator:

Driving every bit of that motivation is his desire to connect with an audience. It is his inspired gift.

[trumpet music]

Chris:

But if someone says you're going to see Chris Botti what does he do he plays the trumpet what does that mean? Like does he just walk out the trumpet by himself and you know the whole educational process of people knowing that they're seeing& this all-star band with lots of different styles of music classical jazz R&B rock but when you can dive into somewhere that's super connecting to them emotionally in a public space. It's the coolest thing.

Gwyn:

He knows that the work he's doing is important and he's driven by doing that work, not by anything else, and it's so inspiring to see. He transcends his instrument. He is yes a trumpeter, yes a jazz musician, but he's most of all an artist.

[music]

Distinguished Alumni Service Award

Chris Botti

Description of the following video:

Moses W. Gray

Moses Gray: Each of us have the opportunity and also the obligation to give back to our communities. Don't miss that opportunity.

Narrator:

The story of Moses Gray would be great if we were only to mention that he grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. Then became a rising football star who decided to nurture both his abilities and education right here at Indiana University. Followed by being drafted to the American Football League, and an illustrious 30-year career in the corporate world of General Motors. But, there is more to his story. It's about family. Mentoring the next generations, and making a positive impact on the community.

Curt Simic, President Emeritus, IU Foundation:

He's a big man in the things that he does, and the things he does for Humanity. He's just a wonderful good human being. He values family. The family man in him is an example for all of us.

Narrator:

When Moses and his wife Ann wanted to expand their family they found the best way to do so would be through adoption. However, during that era the adoption process was both complicated and arduous for African American families and children.

Moses:

They're coming out of that we took on the issue of helping black children adopted in this community. And just made a big difference so what was happening to our children in the city.

Narrator:

This led Moses on a mission to aid in child welfare by instituting Homes for Black Children, an organization that was committed to matching African American children to adoptable families.

Moses:

We were able to take that across the nation. Many more kids had an opportunity to be placed in adoptions, and have families that would not have had families before.

Narrator:

His strength is his keen ability to listen and identify solutions to multifaceted problems. This ability served Moses well as he took on leadership roles in many community, state, and national organizations.

Curt:

One of the great things in his career that propelled his career he thinks in multi-dimensions. That's one of the reasons he has been so interested in the welfare of children. Realizing the long-range needs for youngsters to be given the chance to, to develop.

Narrator:

The primary need Moses identified among his own community was the mentorship of black youth. In 1984 he founded a local Indiana chapter of 100 Black Men of America, and worked diligently to grow the organization across the nation. Serving as the national secretary for eight years and local president for nine years.

Moses:

But we had chapters around America that we're doing things to help black children achieve and these kids weren't graduating from high school and amazingly ninety-six percent of 'em graduate high school and ninety-six percent of graduated from college. Because, there wa somebody there to care for them that was able to say, "You too can achieve in this arena".

Narrator:

His passion toward education led the university to reach out to Moses to help the campaign to build the Neil Marshall Black Culture Center. He agreed but encouraged the university to name at least one deserving black faculty member an endowed professorship.

Curt:

He thinks about how this action affects this over here. The impact that he's had in multiple ways on the University, uh, on the country, have really been astounding. Looking back at numerous accomplishments and the lives he's touched through the years. Moses is especially amazed by the positive impact his efforts have had on generations of his own family.

Moses:

To think I started something that is giving back that back to my grandkids, it's awesome.

Distinguished Alumni Service Award

Moses W. Gray

Description of the following video:

Richard A. Reed

Richard Reed:

For me serving others has just been a natural evolution of my life. Service for me was less of a calling and more of a just the natural extension of my upbringing.

Narrator:

A native of North Carolina the son of an Army command sergeant major, Richard Reid grew up is one of six children in a tight-knit community with strong values. After high school, he made his first effort and continuing his education, but found that perhaps there was another calling.

Richard:

My first attempt at the university life was less than successful, so I backed out of that went into the military.

Narrator:

In the military, Richard served four years as an Airborne Ranger in the Army.

Richard:

And realized at that point in my life the value of an education, and the value of an institution like Indiana University. And was able to get an undergraduate degree and a master's degree. Uh, that has put me in a position to to better myself to contribute and then to get back to my community.

Michael Patchner, Dean, School of Social Work:

After he graduated with his Social Work degree. He went and worked for the Veterans Administration, and he was out there working with homeless vets in Indianapolis.

Richard:

We started out as a as a generalist social worker, and I can tell you probably the best job I ever had. Veterans who have served their country, and and have fallen on hard times for for a variety of reasons. The opportunity to work with that that population and help, uh, connect them back to society has been so rewarding and so valuable.

Narrator:

An incident at the Veterans Administration led Richard to take advantage of an opportunity to be trained on how to manage disruptive behavior. This training became the catalyst for a major turning point within his career.

Michael:

So, he went to these classes and he not only participated in these classes he embraced those classes, and then he became a teacher of these classes.

Narrator:

His teaching experiences led to the request to oversee the VA's National Workplace Violence Prevention Program. He became responsible for over 200,000 VA employees and more than 100 medical centers. Richard's skillset grew as he began to coordinate and advise other national institutions on violence prevention. The combination of knowledge as a clinical social worker, military background, and prevention preparation allowed Richard to rise to the top of his field. But, then . . .

Michael:

9/11 happened and President Bush asked Richard to pull some plans together because what they had were old plans from after World War Two, and Richard did a remarkable job. People were impressed with how he was able to get one agency and another agency to work together.

Narrator:

He was becoming known as a relentless problem solver, and became a fixture within the White House Situation Room. Within quick succession he served in roles with the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and as a deputy special assistant to the president.

Michael:

He was in charge of America's response to the tsunami in Japan, tornadoes in Joplin Missouri, to earthquakes in Haiti.

Richard:

When the earthquake in Haiti occurred I was, I was at the White House and when asked you know what is it you want me to do down there? The response I got was fix it. Worked with some great people. Probably 400 different, uh, non-governmental organizations and really the opportunity to spend time with them and bring folks together to solve somebody else's problem uh was just a heck of an experience.

Narrator:

For a brief period Richard transition from the White House it was recruited by the American Red Cross. He has an indispensable ability to bring groups of the brightest people together, and never lose sight of what's at stake.

Michael:

He gets a call one day from President Obama, and said we need you back at the White House. There's a disease out there it's called Ebola and we need to plan to save America from Ebola. In order to stop Ebola, there were three hotspots in Africa. Two European countries took two of the hot spots, and Richard took Liberia about a year-and-a-half ago it was announced that Liberia was Ebola-free and it was all because of what Richard did and the plans that he pulled together.

Richard:

The president had always told us that he expected three things from our disaster activities. That they would be aggressive, to be well coordinated, to be comprehensive, and uh, I think we're still doing that.

Michael:

He was a public servant totally humble, and went around quietly doing his job but had a major impact and saved countless lives throughout the world because of his work.

Distinguished Alumni Service Award

Richard A. Reed

Description of the following video:

Honorable Lorna G. Schofield

Lorna G. Schofield:

Sometimes people say, "Oh you've had so much success. You've had so much good luck." There's always more to that story if you persevere, and if you get through the hard times and we all have them. There are, there's a terrific life out there.

Narrrator:

Lorna Schofield success story emulates the American Dream. A first-generation Filipino-American raised by a single mother in the small town of New Haven, Indiana, Lorna's early beginnings were not free of challenges. However, her mother's lessons guided her toward excellence.

Lorna:

She was alone raising me I didn't have any siblings, so the story I tell is that my mother would ground me when I got B's. I am Who I am mostly because of who she is. Striving to be better.

Narrator:

Her determination to be better eventually led her to the doorstep of Indiana University.

Lorna:

Indiana was really a pivotal time in my life. Uh, it was the transition point between the world I grew up in New Haven. Where I was a small-town girl, but it was very constrained and Indiana was really the point that opened my world intellectually, geographically. It's what got me interested in um, great literature in great thoughts. You know, my world was pretty small at the time.

Narrator:

Lorna's time at IU was indeed life-altering. Marked with many great experiences and achievements, but a fateful study abroad opportunity to Germany was a turning point in her life.

Lorna:

And it just seemed like such an exciting opportunity to see a different life and to expand my world. And so I came home and I said "Guess what? I want to go to Germany!" and she was uh, she was very sober about it. She discouraged me from going, but in the end she said "No you should, you should do it it's something you really want to do" and so I did and then I heard when I was in Germany that she needed to have surgery. I came back for the surgery she died right after the surgery. I was, I found out about it on a plane, on the tarmac about to take off. So it was, that was pretty hard.

Narrator:

Turning her tragedy into triumph she went on to pursue a degree in law. The diverse upbringing that shaped Lorna's character helped her to blaze a trail among her peers. As a lawyer she represented numerous high-profile companies and clients including Rosie O'Donnell. Additionally she served in many distinguished leadership roles.

Hon. G. Michael Witte, Nominator:

She rose to be the chair of the litigation section of the American Bar Association. It has over 60,000 members. She was the first Asian-American to be the chair of the litigation section.

Lorna:

It's really important for people to be heard, not just to win. In order to feel good about the process in the justice system, but they do need to be heard. So, that's what I really try to emphasize. 

Narrator:

Judge Lorna Schofield was appointed by Barack Obama as the first Filipino-American article three-judge.

Larry Singell, Executive Dean, College of Arts & Sciences:

She's had an incredible career with a large amount of success, also I think represents the understanding that in order to do so one has to often overcome uh, hardships and and do so with grace and in fact that is exactly what she's done. 

Michael:

That Hoosier spirit and that Hoosier foundation. Definitely have an impact on being able in serving, and probably the busiest federal district court in the United States.

Larry:

She represented the best of the legal profession in a way that we would all hope it would be.

Narrator:

She now serves the community on the bench at the United States District Court in New York, and as a mentor to those who seek a similar path way.

Lorna:

Many of my law clerks are diverse. It's a wonderful experience for someone at my you know, point in my professional life to try to really bring up young people. 

Narrator:

What's most endearing is her knowledgeable perspective that life's hardships will always help illuminate your path to success.

Lorna:

The advice that I give young people whether they're studying law or anything else is to get out in the world. Seize the day! If there's something you really want to do it now. What makes a successful life I think is just seizing opportunities that happen to come your way.

Distinguished Alumni Service Award

Lorna G. Schofield