Alumni awards
Earlham College presents alumni awards each year to Earlhamites who have demonstrated excellence or achievement in a chosen career, service to the College, active participation in service and volunteer organizations or service to the Society of Friends, or outstanding achievement in athletics. These honors include the Outstanding Alumni Award, Distinguished Service Award, and induction into the Earlham College Athletics Hall of Fame
Alumni awards accepting nominations
The Alumni Council is currently accepting nominations for the 2021 Alumni Awards. Please submit your nomination by Dec. 31 to be considered for the following year’s awards ceremony.
Athletics Hall of Fame accepting nominations
The Hall of Fame Selection Committee is currently accepting nominations for inductees. Please submit your nomination by Dec. 31 to be considered for that year’s awards ceremony. View criteria for the award here.
2021 Award Honorees
In 2021, the College is pleased to honor Lauren North ’09 as the recipient of Earlham’s 2021 Outstanding Young Alumni Award, Peter V. Johnson ’71 as a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award (posthumous) and Jessica Rettig ’91 as a recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award. Read their bios below.
Jocelyn Keller ’08-’11 (women’s soccer) and Adam Van Zee ’09-’13 (men’s tennis) were the newest inductees into the Earlham College Athletics Hall of Fame.
Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Lauren North ’09
Since graduating from Earlham, Lauren North ’09 has pursued a life dedicated to service and justice. After serving in the Peace Corps for two years in the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), North returned to the U.S. to work for Democratic causes, including Obama’s 2012 re-election bid, the Presidential Inaugural Committee, the Department of Labor and a bus tour with Gabby Gifford for common-sense gun reform. North went on to receive a master’s degree in gender studies from the London School of Economics and a J.D. from the University of Louisville. She worked in several high-impact civil and reproductive rights fellowships throughout law school. View Lauren’s full bio.
Distinguished Service Award (posthumous)
Peter V. Johnson ’71
Since graduating from Earlham, Peter V. Johnson ’71 devoted his life to the field of college admissions and the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue a quality education. Beginning his career at Earlham as a part of the Upward Bound program, Johnson went on to work for 10 years in residential life and admissions at Hampshire College. In 1982, he began a 35-year career at Columbia University, first as the assistant dean for student affairs and later as the director of enrollment group special projects and special assistant to the dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid. View Peter’s full bio.
Outstanding Alumni Award
Jessica Rettig ’91
Jessica Rettig ’91 is a dedicated teacher and scholar in the field of biology. As a full professor of biology at Denison University, Rettig is one of only two women full professors in the sciences at Denison. She is sought after as an expert on the evaluation of colleges and departments, having served as an external reviewer of biology departments and as a Higher Learning Commission accreditation reviewer for multiple colleges. After obtaining her Ph.D. in zoology and in ecology, evolutionary biology and behavior from Michigan State University in 1999, Rettig served as a visiting assistant professor at Earlham College and an assistant professor at William Jewell College. View Jessica’s full bio.
View past award winners
Learn more about past alumni award winners and read their bios.