/ Offices/ Alumni/Alumni Honors

Alumni Honors Award Recipients

Each year the Board of Alumni honors alumni who have achieved distinction in their chosen field, have shown exceptional leadership qualities and/or have demonstrated outstanding volunteer service in their communities and the college.

Alumni Honors Celebration 2024

Celebrating members of the L&C Community!

During Alumni Weekend 2024, we celebrated four outstanding members of the L&C Community:

Ululani Brigitte Russo Oana ’15 - Outstanding Young Alumna Award

Mark Duntley - Don Balmer Citation for Service to the College

Hillary Dixon ’99 - L&C Alumni Leadership Award

Art Van Zee ’69 - Distinguished Alumnus Award

Our honorees are pictured above with Board of Alumni President Stacy Thompson ’79.

You can submit a nomination by completing the nomination form here. Our next group of award winners will be announced in early 2025, and honored at the Alumni Honors Celebration during Alumni Weekend on June 28, 2025.

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

This award honors an alumnus/a for superior performance in his or her chosen field and/or superior service to his or her chosen community, 15 or more years after graduation.

Distinguished Alumnus

Michael Graham

2024
Distinguished Alumnus Award

Michael has worked in both the public and private sectors, including at the Center for Genocide Prevention at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, and Guidehouse LLP. His work has taken him around the world and has included building technology partnerships aimed at preventing atrocities, conflict research and photography, analyzing large US development programs, and consulting for local and federal government agencies.

More information on the upcoming Alumni Honors Celebration at Alumni Weekend 2025.

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Outstanding Young Alumni Award Recipients

This award honors an alumnus/a for superior performance in his or her chosen field and/or superior service to his or her chosen community within 15 years of graduation.

Young Alumna Award

Frances Swanson BA ’17

2024
Outstanding Young Alumna Award

Appointed on the first day of the Biden administration, Frances served four years at the Department of Energy, working to advance the President’s climate, jobs, and equity priorities. Her responsibilities included serving as the special advisor to the first-ever Under Secretary for Infrastructure, a branch of the DOE created to implement the department’s funding of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

More information on the upcoming Alumni Honors Celebration at Alumni Weekend 2025.

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Donald G. Balmer Citation Recipients

This award honors an alumnus/a, faculty or staff member, or friend of Lewis & Clark for outstanding voluntary service to the college. Originally called the “Alumni Citation”, this award was renamed in 1991 to recognize Don Balmer’s selfless support of the college and to encourage others to follow his example.

Balmer Citation

Kim Stafford

2024
Donald G. Balmer Citation for Service to the college

Kim, founding director of L&C’s Northwest Writing Institute, teaches and travels to raise the human spirit. He often represents Lewis & Clark as a speaker and advocate for the cultural life of Oregon. Kim has crafted numerous poems for some of the most important moments at L&C, including presidential inaugurations, retirements, and tributes.

More information on the upcoming Alumni Honors Celebration at Alumni Weekend 2025.

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L&C Alumni Leadership Award Recipients

This award (previously named the Pioneer Alumni Leadership Award) honors an alumnus/a for demonstrating extraordinary leadership in his or her service to Lewis & Clark alumni.

alumni leadership award, Pioneer Leadership Award

Hillary Dixon BA ’99

2023
L&C Alumni Leadership Award (for service to L&C alumni)

Watch the Alumni Honors Celebration 2024!

Hillary was an English major at L&C who worked on the student produced literary magazine, the Literature Review. Hillary interned for the British Museum and Bloomsbury Publishing and went on to complete her MA in English from Boston University. Later Hillary would begin her work in social services, focusing on survivors of domestic violence. She initially worked on the crisis hotline for Call to Safety and most recently at the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services. She feels enormously privileged to have had a Lewis & Clark education and has helped to create an annual English student scholarship. Interested in volunteering her time, Hillary joined the Board of Alumni in the fall of 2012. During her eight-year tenure on the board, she served in many capacities, including president.

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