Nominations/applications underway for two different Grinnell awards
July 17, 2024 — Two of Grinnell College’s most prestigious alumni honors will be accepting entries through the end of August.
Nominations are underway for the 2025 Alumni Awards. Grinnellians are encouraged to nominate a fellow alum for consideration. Additionally, applications are being collected for the 2024 Joseph F. Wall ’41 Alumni Service Award. These should be submitted by the applicant rather than by a nominator. Both awards have submission deadlines of Aug. 31.
Further details about each award are below.
Denise Iverson-Payne ’74, right, is presented with a 2024 Alumni Award from Robert Gehorsam ’76, Alumni Council past president, during Reunion 2024.
2025 Alumni Awards
The Grinnell College Alumni Awards have recognized individuals who embody Grinnell College’s mission of lifetime learning and service. Recipients, which date back to the class of 1900, have distinguished themselves by their service to their careers, their community, and/or the College.
Nominations are being accepted for the following classes, who will celebrate their reunions in 2025:
- 70th Reunion: 1955
- 60th Reunion: 1965-66
- 50th Reunion: 1975
- 40th Reunion: 1984-85
- 35th Reunion: 1989-91
- 25th Reunion: 2000
- 15th Reunion: 2009-11
- 10th Reunion: 2015
Complete an online nomination form to share details about the nominee. Current Grinnell College Board of Trustees and Alumni Council members are not eligible for an Alumni Award. Visit the Alumni Awards web page to find more information about the award and learn about past recipients.
The Grinnell College Alumni Council will select the recipients and share the news through an announcement in The Grinnellian e-newsletter early next year. The recipients will be presented with their awards May 31 at Alumni Assembly during Reunion 2025.
Ceramic artist Maggie Connolly ’07 was one of three alums selected for the 2023 Joseph F. Wall ’41 Alumni Service Awards.
2024 Joseph F. Wall ’41 Alumni Service Award
During Grinnell College’s sesquicentennial celebration in 1996, the Wall Award was established as a tribute to the College’s 150-year tradition of social commitment. The award was named in honor of Joseph Wall ’41, professor of history and longtime dean of the College, who inspired an ideal of social responsibility in his students.
Each year, a committee composed of alumni, faculty, and a student choose up to two alumni award recipients. They receive up to $40,000 prizes to either jump-start or complete a project that shows creativity and commitment to effecting positive social change. Any graduate of Grinnell College is eligible to apply, as long as they themselves will act as a principal of the project.
To apply, read through and complete the Wall Service Award application. Additional information about the award and a partial list of past winners can be found on the Wall Service Award webpage.
— by Jeremy Shapiro