Alumni & Friends
Magazine
Give
Mobile Icon for Homepage
Alumni & Friends
Iowa Magazine
Give to Iowa
Home Distinguished Alumni Awards Distinguished Alumni Awards Nomination Information

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS NOMINATION INFORMATION

Recognizing Our Alumni Successes

The University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Awards Committee—which includes members of our Alumni Leadership Council—aims to recognize a broad range of qualified candidates who embody the university’s core values by honoring them with Distinguished Alumni Awards. The committee selects an annual recipient in each of the following categories:

  • The Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award recognizes graduates or former students who demonstrate significant accomplishments in their business or professional lives as well as distinguished service to their university, community, state, or nation.
  • The Distinguished Alumni Service Award recognizes graduates or former students who demonstrate specific and meritorious service to their university, community, state, or nation.
  • The Distinguished Alumni Hickerson Recognition Award recognizes graduates or former students for outstanding contributions to their alma mater. This award is named in honor of the late Loren Hickerson (40BA), the university’s first full-time alumni director and an ardent UI champion.
  • The Distinguished Recent Graduate Award recognizes graduates or former students, age 40 or younger at their time of nomination, for significant accomplishments in their business or professional lives as well as for distinguished service to their university, community, state, or nation.
  • The Distinguished Friend of the University Award recognizes individuals who are not alumni for specific and meritorious service that enhances and advances the university.
  • The Distinguished Faculty Award recognizes retired or former faculty for significant achievements and for specific meritorious service that enhances and advances the university. Nominees need not be alumni.
  • The Distinguished Staff Award recognizes retired or former staff for significant achievements and for specific meritorious service that enhances and advances the university. Nominees need not be alumni.

NOMINATION FORMAT

Graduates, former students, faculty, staff, and friends of the University of Iowa may make nominations (the Distinguished Alumni Awards Committee reserves the right to reassign nomination categories, if deemed applicable). Nominators should submit the following:

  • Cover letter that states the nomination category, endorses the candidate’s qualifications, and highlights how the nominee embodies the UI's core values
  • Nominee's vita or professional résumé, including a current address
  • Three or more letters of recommendation from other individuals who support the nomination
  • Any additional information that would further substantiate the nomination

EXCLUSION FROM ELIGIBILITY

Current members of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement’s board of directors and staff, members of the Alumni Leadership Council, and current university faculty and staff are not eligible to receive these awards.

AWARDS TIMELINE

Nominations for the 2023 awards will close on January 31, 2023. The Distinguished Alumni Awards Committee will meet in April 2023 to review all nominations and make the annual selections. Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented at a special ceremony on the Friday before the University of Iowa’s Homecoming (October 2023).

MAIL NOMINATIONS TO:

The University of Iowa Center for Advancement
Distinguished Alumni Awards
One West Park Road
Iowa City, Iowa 52244

For more information, email Nici Bontrager or call 319-467-3607.

Join an Alumni Network
Make a Gift
Join our Email List
Iowa Magazine
Explore the latest stories from Iowa Magazine.
Related Content
In Memory Summer 2021

Remembering College of Public Health professor emerita Elaine Smith, University of Iowa volunteer Brian Davis, and other Hawkeyes.

Hayden Fry's Iowa Legacy

Hayden Fry's impact on the football field extends far and wide. His legacy beyond the gridiron looms just as large. Before, during, and after his 20-year tenure as head coach of the Iowa football team, Fry?who died Dec. 17 at age 90?used his platform to help others. As head coach at Southern Methodist University, Fry broke racial barriers in 1965 by recruiting wide receiver Jerry LeVias, the first African American scholarship athlete in the Southwest Conference. LeVias became an All-American in 1968 and opened the door for other African American athletes in the South. Fry considered it his greatest accomplishment when both he and LeVias were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Fry helped his community again after he became head coach at Iowa in 1979. Amid the Midwest farm crisis in 1985, Fry launched the America Needs Farmers campaign?placing gold "ANF" decals on the Hawkeyes' helmets to raise awareness of their contributions. Fry, who was raised on a farm and recruited numerous players with farming backgrounds, started the campaign to let the country know that farmers need help. On Nov. 2, 1985, that message was received by a national audience that tuned into CBS to watch top-ranked Iowa?with "ANF" stickers adorned on their helmets?face Ohio State in Columbus. The gold stickers with black lettering became a conversation starter for the rest of the season that concluded with the Hawkeyes' trip to the 1986 Rose Bowl. The tradition continues today and extends beyond the helmet decals. Iowa hosts an annual American Needs Farmers game that allows farmers to share their experiences and knowledge with fans, and a wall of honor recognizes former UI football players who exemplify tenacity, work ethic, and character of the Iowa farmer. The "ANF" logo also appears on shirts, hats, and other apparel with the proceeds going to Iowa's food banks. Fry said he applied lessons that he learned on the farm to coaching. Those principles proved to be effective in helping him assemble successful coaching staffs and teams in the same way that people rallied around the America Needs Farmers campaign. "He was a master of building teams and pulling people together," says Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz, who worked under Fry as an assistant from 1981?1989 and became his successor at Iowa in December 1998. Earlier that year, Fry was diagnosed with prostate cancer but didn't share it publicly until after the season as health issues forced him to step down as the Hawkeyes head coach. As Fry's attention shifted to fighting the disease, he also spread cancer awareness. Fry assisted with a $10 million campaign funding the J. Hayden Fry Center for Prostate Cancer Research at the University of Iowa, gave speeches at UI Hospitals and Clinics, and visited cancer patients across the country. Fry also served on the UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Advocacy Board and spoke at fundraisers to further support cancer research. Fry also served as an honorary board member for the Iowa Special Olympics and helped with raising funds for muscular dystrophy and numerous organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, the Iowa Council for Better Hearing and Speech, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In 1999, Fry earned a UI Distinguished Alumni Award (Faculty/Staff). Throughout his 20 years at the Hawkeyes head coach and beyond, Fry changed the University of Iowa for the better?on and off the field. At his retirement press conference, Fry held back tears and said: "All of the people who gave me an opportunity to spend 20 years as a member of the Hawkeye family, I could never repay them." From the Tigerhawk and America Needs Farmers campaign to his efforts in supporting cancer research, Fry's contributions to the University of Iowa, our state, and the country will never be forgotten. Read about Hayden Fry's lasting?impact on college football, including his illustrious lineage of assistant coaches who are some of sport's biggest names.?

Iowa Spirit Squad Affinity Group

The Iowa Spirit Squad Affinity Group creates lasting connections between Spirit Squad alumni, current Spirit Squad teams, and the University of Iowa Athletics Department.

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Statement unless you have disabled them in your browser.

Close

Careers
Update Your Information
Contact Us
Privacy Statement
© The University of Iowa Center for Advancement
NOTICE: The University of Iowa Center for Advancement is an operational name for the State University of Iowa Foundation, an independent, Iowa nonprofit corporation organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, publicly supported charitable entity that works to advance the University of Iowa. Please review its full disclosure statement.