Alumni receive award for service

IU will recognize five former students this weekend with the Distinguished Alumni Service Award at a luncheon in the Indiana Memorial Union's Alumni Hall. The criteria for receiving the award include achievements in their fields and important contributions to their communities.\nThis year's recipients include Clarence W. Boone Sr., of Gary; Gayle Karch Cook, of Bloomington; Alecia A. DeCoudreaux, of Indianapolis; Larry R. Ellis, of Atlanta; and Patricia R. Miller, of Fort Wayne, according to a statement released by the IU Alumni Association.\nAs part of IU's Cream and Crimson Weekend, IU has conferred 268 DASA's on alumni since the creation of the award in 1953.\nWith an estimated 450,000 living graduates on the rolls, the IU Alumni Association is the third largest in the United States, and the Cream and Crimson Weekend is one of the largest functions the Association sponsors next to Homecoming. The weekend event serves many purposes for the IU Alumni Association. \n"It is an opportunity for the 50-year class to return for their reunion each year," said Ken Beckley, President and CEO of the IU Alumni Association. "It is the weekend for the IU Foundation board of directors to meet. It is the weekend for the policy setting group for the Alumni Association called the Executive Council to meet."\nThe weekend is also the forum for the ceremony honoring those who will receive the DASA.\nToward the end of every calendar year, the Alumni Association puts out a call for nominations for the award and puts together a selection committee consisting of seven members who work anonymously, in an effort to make sure voting is not influenced by outsiders. The committee meets and goes over the nominations for the DASA based on any number of facets of achievement benefiting their field or the community. \nThe selection committee chooses five recipients and one alternate. One stipulation of the award is the recipient must be present to receive the award. If one of the recipients cannot RSVP to the ceremony, then the alternate takes the absentee's place and receives the award.\nWith the support of a public institution coming from supporters such as alumni, in both financial- and service-oriented ways, the recognition of those supporters is important to the health of a university.\n"Every day, our alumni are active participants in the successes of Indiana University," said Amanda Burnham, IU School of Journalism director of development and alumni relations. "The DASA is important because a university should recognize the achievements of its alumni and should publicly thank these individuals for their dedication to so many worthy causes. And to thank these individuals among their family and friends is a wonderful honor."\nBoone earned his bachelor's degree in anatomy and physiology in 1953 and earned an M.D. in 1956 from the IU Medical School. He worked as a physician in northwest Indiana until his retirement in 1999. Boone has served IU's Northwest campus in several capacities, including two chancellor search committees and on the IU Northwest Chancellor's Advisory Committee. Boone also served his community by working on a number of projects, including the Gary Community School Corporation's Drop-out Prevention program.\nCook graduated from IU in 1956 with a Fine Arts degree and with her husband, Bill, founded a company called Cook, Inc., which specializes in the manufacturing of medical equipment. Cook and her husband have endowed chairs in the School of Education and the School of Medicine and supported the endowment of the Wells Scholars Program. She is a member of the IU Foundation board of directors.\nDeCoudreaux is a 1978 graduate of the IU School of Law, and is secretary and general counsel for Eli Lilly and Co. DeCoudreaux has served as chairwoman of the IU School of Law board of visitors and as a member of the school's search committee for a dean. She is also a member of the IU Foundation board of directors. In the Indianapolis community, she has been a director of United Way. \nEllis earned his masters degree from the IU School of HPER in 1975, but he began his 32-year military career in 1969. Now a four-star general, he is one of the highest-ranking officers in the United States Army and is Commanding Officer of U.S. Army Forces Command. He is responsible for the well-being of 750,000 troopers, civilians, retirees and their families.\nMiller received a bachelor's degree in education in 1960 and began a career in teaching in Fort Wayne. But her initiative and drive led her in another direction. In 1982, she and a partner founded Vera Bradley Designs, which manufactures luggage, handbags and travel accessories. \nAs a result of the company's success, she has been able to lead efforts to provide resources for cancer research. The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer Research has been a major supporter of cancer research at the IU School of Medicine. The Foundation provided for the establishment of the Vera Bradley Chair in oncology.\n"These individuals are an essential part of the University family, and we rely on their commitment to service," said Jane Jankowski, IU director of public communication. "Those individuals who have shown such a commitment certainly deserve this award"