Alumni Awards
The Grinnell College Alumni Council selects up to fifteen alumni to receive Alumni Awards at Reunion every year. The Alumni Award recognizes individuals who embody Grinnell College’s mission of lifetime learning and service. Recipients have distinguished themselves by their service to their careers, their community, and/or the College.
2023 Alumni Awards
The 2023 Alumni Award recipients are:
- Mary Knuth Otto ’63
- Lorie Hill ’68
- Susie Kaeser ’69
- Bob Eckardt ’73
- Irma McClaurin ’73
- Rod Sinks ’81
- Kristin Layng Szakos ’81
- Rick Stuck ’82
- Cameo Carlson ’93
- Kartik Sheth ’93
- Suyog Shrestha ’06
- Emily Guenther ’07
- Cynthia Dominguez ’12
- Joy Sales ’13
Read more about our 14 outstanding recipients.
Alumni Awards Nominations
The Alumni Award recognizes individuals who embody Grinnell College’s mission of lifetime learning and service. Nominated by their classmates and peers, recipients have distinguished themselves by their service to their careers, their community, and/or the College.
We are now accepting Alumni Award nominations for Reunion 2024 and other future reunions. The classes celebrating reunion in 2024 are 1954 (70th), 1959–60 (65th), 1974 (50th), 1978–80 (45th), 1999 (25th), 2003–05 (15th), 2014 (10th), and 2017–19 (5th).
Nominations can be submitted during any year, not just during your Reunion year. Nominations received will be kept until the nominee's next Reunion and will be available to the selection committee for two consecutive Reunion cycles in which the nominee is eligible for an award. If you would like to update a previously submitted nomination, please call the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at 866-850-1846 (toll-free) or email us at alumni@grinnell.edu.
Current trustees and current Alumni Council members are not eligible for an Alumni Award. Alumni who have served on the Council within the last three years are also not eligible, unless they are celebrating a Reunion beyond their 40th year. Nominations for alumni from non-Reunion classes will be accepted but held until the appropriate Reunion year. Past awardees of the Alumni Award or the Pioneer Award are not eligible to receive the award again. Alumni may only receive the award once in their lifetime.
Previous Alumni Award Recipients