The Alumni Achievement Awards are given to Hanoverians who have distinguished themselves in their profession, service to their community, or service to Hanover College. The Awards are conferred at the spring Alumni Awards Brunch.
Nominations due Oct. 31 for the following award year.
Download Alumni Achievement Award Nominations Form (PDF)
Online Nomination Form
Judith Mayhew Andrews '66
Jerry Johnson '69
David Palmer '65
The Hanover College Awards Brunch will be held on Saturday, March 17 at 11:00 a.m.
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| Dr. Thomas R. Cullison ’68 | Lisa L. Fleming ’82 | Wallace R. Yakey ’75 |
Rear Adm. Thomas R. Cullison ’68 came to Hanover to pursue music, but a documentary about SEALAB II, the U.S. Navy’s experimental underwater habitat, changed his direction to Navy medicine.
Commissioned through Officer Candidate School right after graduation, Cullison’s 42-year career began as a surface line officer participating in riverine salvage operations and as a saturation diving officer, both in Vietnam.
He attended Indiana University School of Medicine, receiving his degree in 1979. Following a surgical internship and orthopedic surgery residency at Naval Medical Center San Diego, he reported to the Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton in 1984, becoming chief of orthopedic surgery in 1986.
He held several positions while stationed at Naval Medical Center, San Diego from 1987-1995 including assistant chairman of orthopedic surgery, director, sports medicine service, surgeon general specialty leader for orthopedic surgery, and director of surgical services.
Cullison served as deputy commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth from 1995-1998, commanding officer, Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune from 1998-2001, fleet surgeon, U.S. Pacific Fleet from 2001-2003, Command Surgeon, U.S. Pacific Command from 2003-2004, Medical Officer of the Marine Corps from 2004-2005 and Commander, Navy Medicine East /Commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth from 2005-2007. His final assignment was as Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy from 2007-2010 when he retired.
He had many significant accomplishments during his tenure as the deputy surgeon general including overseeing noteworthy improvements to the electronic health records program. In less than 76 hours, Cullison coordinated the identification and transportation of more than 1,000 Navy medical personnel to Haiti after a 7.0 earthquake killed more than 230,000 people in January 2010.
His personal awards include Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with three gold stars, Bronze Star with Combat V, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, and Combat Action Ribbon.
Cullison and his wife, Marilynn, move between Swansboro, N.C., and Honolulu, Hawaii where he currently serves as senior operational advisor at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. The couple has five grown children and five grandchildren. At Hanover, Cullison was a member of Beta Theta Pi and on the wrestling team. He also sang in the College Choir.
Lisa Fleming ’82 currently serves as attorney-owner of her own firm, Fleming Law PLLC, which she started in 2006.
Her legal career began after earning her juris doctorate from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1985. Fleming joined American Commercial Barge Line Company (ACBL) as an associate attorney and rose through the ranks during her 10-year tenure. Her last assignment with ACBL was a special assignment is sales, marketing and distribution services.
Fleming went on to become Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for- AM-AR International, Ltd., from 1995-96, followed by six years as associate general counsel and assistant secretary for Midland Enterprises, Inc. From 2003-06, Fleming served as Sr. Vice President, Law and Administration; General Counsel and Secretary for American Commercial Lines, Inc.
Among her many business and professional affiliations, Fleming is a member of the American Bar Association, Environmental Law Institute, Women in Transportation, National Association of Female Executives and River City Business and Professional Women. She serves as treasurer for the Indiana chapter of the American Corporate Counsel Association, as Secretary of Corporate Counsel Committee for the Cincinnati & Ohio Bar Associations and is a Clinton Administration appointee to the Inland Waterways Users Board
In civic life, Fleming currently is a member of Hanover’s Center for Business Preparation Advisory Board and a past-president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. She also serves as president of the St. Francis School (Ky.) Board of Trustees; president of the Rho Chapter House Corporation of Phi Mu and executive director of the Chi Chapter House Corporation of Sigma Chi, and a past national vice president of collegiate operations; vice president of programming for Leadership Southern Indiana Board of Directors and as a member of the Clark County, Ind., chapter of the American Red Cross Board of Directors.
Fleming holds memberships in the Community Youth Leadership Collaborative Commission, Ivy Tech State College Development Council, Hanover Club of Louisville, Clark County United Way Allocations Committee, EMMA’S List, Kentucky Women Advocates, Brandeis Society and the League of Women Voters, among many others.
At Hanover, Fleming majored in business administration and was an alumni senior award and scholarship leadership award recipient. She and her husband, Joe Ware, live in LaGrange, Kentucky and have one son, Wyatt.
Wallace R. “Ace” Yakey Jr. ’75 has served as program director, Community Development of Lilly Endowment Inc., since Nov. 1, 1997. The Community Development division focuses primarily on the quality of life in Indianapolis and Indiana, granting funds for human/social needs, central city and neighborhood revitalization, low-income housing, and arts and culture in Indianapolis.
It also supports amateur athletics and fitness organizations, facilities and programs that help advance the city’s economic revitalization and community recreational opportunities. On a statewide level, it provides major support for the development of endowments of community foundations and the advancement of United Ways.
Before joining the Endowment, Yakey was president of the Indianapolis Economic Development Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation responsible for the retention/expansion of existing businesses and the attraction of new businesses to the Indianapolis area. He spent 13 years in commercial real estate and development; before this, he was the assistant campaign director for the United Way of Central Indiana.
Yakey serves as a Trustee of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Indianapolis and has served two terms on the vestry. He is a member of the Penrod Society and is a graduate of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership series. Yakey has served as a board member on numerous community and civic organizations, including Dance Kaleidoscope, Jordan YMCA, Community Hospital Foundation, National Art Museum of Sport, Washington Township Parent Council, Greater Indianapolis Foreign Trade Zone and Mid City Pioneer Corporation. He also is a past president of the Hanover College Alumni Association and served on the College’s most recent presidential search committee.
At Hanover, Yakey majored in sociology and was a member of the fraternity Beta Theta Pi. He received the alumni senior award and went on to earn a master’s degree in social work from Indiana University in 1980.
Yakey and his wife, Beth Brodrick Yakey ’75, are the parents of two daughters.
 Richard Park '51 |  Philip Hedrick '64 |  Doug Kurdys '61 |
Richard Park ’51
Richard Park exemplifies the words commitment to service. After earning his master’s in mathematics from Syracuse University and his doctorate from the University of Pittsburg, he began a 44-year career at Franklin College, starting as assistant professor of mathematics in 1958.
In 1965, Franklin appointed Park dean of the college and later on to professor of mathematics and vice president for academic affairs. Franklin named him the Wolford Professor of Mathematics in 1996 and one year later honored Park with a distinguished service award. He also coached the golf team at Franklin for more than 30 years. Park received an honorary degree from Franklin in 2002.
A member of the Indiana Academy of Science, the Mathematics Association of America, and the American Association of Academic Deans, Park also served as co-chairman of the Franklin Human Relations Council, formed to help ease racial tension and promote equality.
Beyond his professional life, Park’s service to underprivileged children had been nothing short of extraordinary. He was the President of the Association for the Rights of Children of Indiana. He and his wife, Ruth, have been foster parents to approximately 40 children over 20 years, many of whom required a therapeutic foster home. The Parks have 10 children of their own, five of whom they adopted. The city of Franklin awarded The Park family with the “Family of the Year” award.
At Hanover, Park majored in math and history, was active in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, played baseball and ran cross country, was the editor of Revonah and The Triangle, served on the Inter-Fraternal Council, and was in the college choir.
Philip Hedrick ’64 is one of the world’s leading authorities on genetics, as evidenced by his publications, including four textbooks on genetics, two of which are currently in third editions.
After Hanover, Hedrick received a research assistantship for graduate study in genetics from the University of Minnesota, earning a National Institute of Health Fellowship. He went on to receive his doctorate in genetics from Minnesota in 1968.
Hedrick received a second NIH Fellowship for a year of postdoctoral research in genetics at the University of Chicago, followed by a faculty appointment as assistant professor of systematics and genetics at the University of Kansas, later attaining the rank of professor.
After teaching at Kansas for 19 years, he accepted a position as professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University, where he remained for four years. In 1992, he moved to Arizona State University, to serve as Ullman Professor of Biology. Hedrick focuses his research on the conservation genetics of endangered species and the genetic bases of evolutionary processes.
More than 30 federal and state research grants have funded his research, for a total of nearly $3.5 million. Hedrick’s research has resulted in the publication of 195 scientific journal articles and the presentation of countless papers. He has also participated as an invited lecturer at 61 symposia, 29 of which took place in other countries.
Hedrick has also served on the editorial board of eight journals, as an editor of three journals, and as president of the American Society of Naturalists and the American Genetics Association. He has lent his expertise to the benefit of species such as the hooded and whooping cranes, leopard frog, Mexican wolf, Chinook salmon, Pallid sturgeon, Florida panther, desert bighorn sheep and wild horses.
At Hanover Hedrick majored in biology, was active in the Sigma Chi fraternity, and played football. He also spent his junior year abroad at American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Doug Kurdys ’61
Even among overachievers, Doug Kurdys ’61 would be in a class by himself. After graduating from Hanover, he studied verse drama in England on a Fulbright scholarship, went on to earn a doctorate in English from Stanford, a J.D. from the University of California, and a second doctorate in psychology from the University of California.
To match his degrees he had several careers: professor of English at the University of California – Berkley; he established his own law firm and practiced law for more than 30 years; and served as a research psychologist for the State of California followed by a private practice in clinical psychology.
Kurdys is the author of numerous scholarly publications in academic and professional journals. He has published on such diverse topics from dramatic literature to the insanity defense for lawyers.
At Hanover Kurdys triple-majored in English, philosophy, and speech and drama, was an active member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, had the leads in two plays, was captain of the college bowl, editor of Revonah, president and flute soloist for the Hanover College band, and class valedictorian. In addition to the Fulbright, Kurdys capped off his college career by winning a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship.
Additionally, Kurdys was undefeated at Hanover in first singles and first doubles, never losing a set. Hanover won the conference championship all four of those years and Kurdys captained three of those teams. After college, he continued to play championship tennis and was the top ranked senior player in California in 1992, from 2000-2005 and in 2008. Hanover inducted Kurdys into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
 JoAnn Brouillette '83 |  Andrew R. Burgess '68 |  Richard A Lesh '66 |
Established in 1960
2009
JoAnn Brouillette '83
Andrew R. Burgess '68
Richard A Lesh '66
2008
Elmer Geissler '51
Jane Huffman Hayes '83
James A. Lake '65
2007
Stephen E. Olvey '65
Virginia Vogel Riley '54
Richard C. Rogers '58
2006
Joyce Hopewell Brinkman '66
Jerry McKenzie '59
Richard Scamehorn '64
2005
Wade Clapp '77
Mike Pence '81
Sandy Wilcox '66
2004
Kenneth Gladish '74
Thomas Mayer '73
Robert Schults '64
2003
Ralph Gray '55
Peter Kovacic '43
Jim Ward '81
2002
R. James Green '72
Charles C. Hawley '51
Warren L. Prell '66
2001
John Hawley '54
G. Lincoln McCurdy '73
David Ramage, Jr. '51
2000
John E. Frederick '71
Jim Leonard, Jr. '78
John C. Shoemaker '64
1999
Jackie Bennett '80
Elaine Kops-Bedel '74
Joseph Rawlings '52
1998
John C. Trimble '77
Carol R. Bogardus '55
J. Joseph Hale, Jr. '71
1997
Paul W. Kettlewell '73
Paula Jane Hagerman Kettlewell '73
J. Barton Luedeke '64
Suellen Kinder Reed '67
1996
Margaret Ellis Hammelrath '62
James E. Head '61
Carol Warner Shields '57
1995
Naomi Blume Bliss '26
Mary Ella Weber Cooper '32
Gale E. Dryden '44
Robert S. Gettinger '40
1994
Clifton S.M. Egan '73
Lawrence E. Gloyd '54
Woodrow T. Harrelson '83
1993
Nicholas E. Rutsis '63
Ezra S. Shaya '50
1992
Jane Parker Huber '48
William A. Huber '48
Carl Weatherbee '40
1991
Bill N. Scifres '52
Bonnie Fawcett Anders '65
1990
George C. Burkert '35
Wallace F. Judkins '27
1989
Chester L. Alwes, Jr. '69
1988
Janet Favinger Brinkman '69
Eleanore Watts Moyer '42
1987
James W. Near '60
1986
Joan Phillips Leitzel '58
William B. Rossow '69
1985
Lawrence T. Evans '34
Maribeth Gettinger '75
Sarah Morrow Ketchum '75
1984
Judith Moffett '64
John R. Smith '53
1983
Dorothy Allison Sheppard '40
Harold K. Voris '62
1982
Mary Margaret Mills Moorhead '49
James A. Peterson '50
Patricia L. Walne '54
1981
Warren E. Darnell '28
James A. Richter '65
1980
Mildred G. Lemen '52
William A. Welsheimer, Sr. '51
Harold "Red" Benedict '29
1979
Leslie F. Fox '32
Clark S. Ketterman '52
Sylvia Dan Ketterman '52
Jay C. Taff '26
1978
George W. Carson '27
George W. Pheasant '28
Louisa G. Plummer '29
George S. Taggart '30
1977
Louis G. Bumen '27
Frank A. Guthrie '50
Lester H. Munzenmayer '25
David B. Tallman '29
1976
George M. Balas '28
Ada Martin Henry '40
Marvin C. Amos '49
Theodore V. Petranoff '15
1975
Martha L. Bunch '39
Thomas F. Ritter '48
Henry C. Rogers '20
Samuel H. Washburn '56
1974
Raymond A. Bowden '49
John R. Collier '51
James A. Purkhiser '40
William Dana Shelby, Jr. '33
Ann E. Wiltrout '61
1973
Walter F. LaFeber '55
Gordon E. Miller '50
Richard D. Miller '50
John F. Williams '53 (selected in 1972 - given in absentia)
1972
Leona Snyder '31
Edward G. Lueders '47
Thomas K. Roberts '48
Betty Cummins Roberts '48
1971
Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. '63
Roy H. Behnke '43
Thomas A. Katsanis '57
Paul E. Martin '36
Robert E. Wolverton '48
1970
Thomas J. Houser '51
G. Shannon Walker '21 (in absentia)
1969
Thomas B. Polson '52
Emma M. Hill '42
Richard E. Neal '50
1968
William E. Wilson '19
Edmond A. Tilley '40
Robert E. Miller '39
Thomas H. Johns '53
1967
Edward B. Smith '34
Eldon Campbell '37
Blanche Hall Adams '36
S. Clifford Adams '35
1966
Maurice W. Graston '33
George H. Prime '27
Robert A. Frederick '50
Ethel P. Swengel '36
1965
Byers A. Burlingame '21
Daniel E. Lewis '32
Joseph H. Boyer '42
1964
Amos W. Jackson '26
Ralph H. Anderson '31
Wilbur H. Hinds '50
1963
John M. Blankenship '35
Phyliss J. Fleming '46
Harry J. Henry '39
Oren R. Lewis '24
Temple R. Hollcroft '12 (in absentia)
1962
Herman F. Allen '35
Dorothy Breeding Allen '35
Harry E. Wells '16
Wilbur H. Nagel '14
1961
Stanley W. Morse '20
Robert S. Thomas '36
1960
Kenneth M. Montgomery '15
H. Max Healey '36
Julian L. Culbertson '17
Joseph W. Evans 1897
Established in 1952
1952 Russell H. Fitzgibbon '24
1953 Guy Campbell '00
1954 Monica Itoi Sone '46
1955 Kenneth V. Lottick '28
1956 Harold C. Voris '23
1957 Gayle N. Hufford '14
1958 Ira S. Allison '17
1959 James E. Almond '11