Past DAA Recipients
- 2023 - Molly Greenman, M.S.W. '71
- 2018 - Ruth S. Huss '57
- 2016 - Charles A. Zelle '73
- 2012 - The Honorable Edward C. Stringer '53
- 2009 - George E. Tesar, M.D., '69
- 2007 - Edith Nye MacMullen '47
- 2007 - Mary Ann Barrows Wark '65
- 2006 - William C. Canby Jr. '49
- 2005 - Finlay Lewis '56
- 2004 - Carolyn “Kelly” Earl Davis ’31
- 2003 - William E. Pedersen '56
- 2002 - Daniel G. Ritchie '60
- 2001 - Dr. Karen Hsiao Ashe '72
- 2001 - Dr. Charles Berde '69
- 2000 - C. E. Bayliss Griggs '35*
- 2000 - Sandra Bemis Roe '59
- 1999 - Roger G. Kennedy '44
- 1998 - Joan Adams Mondale '48*
- 1997 - Stanley Shepard '47
- 1996 - Ann Bancroft '74
- 1995 - William Frenzel '46*
- 1994 - John M. Doar '40*
- 1993 - Virginia McKnight Binger '34
- 1993 - Robert Matteson '33
- 1992 - Sarah Davidson Wangensteen '26*
- 1991 - Carl B. Drake, Jr. '37*
- 1990 - Irving B. Harris '27*
- 1989 - James J. Barnes '50
- 1989 - Jean M. West '45
- 1988 - Mary Bigelow McMillan '37
- 1987 - Norris D. Jackson '13*
- 1987 - Davidson Sommers '22*
2023 - Molly Greenman, M.S.W. '71
Molly Greenman is a career social worker, a holistic leader, and a creator of change. She has dedicated her professional life to changing systems and policies which keep people from being successful.
Greenman was raised in a family that was actively involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s. She graduated from St. Paul Academy and Summit School in 1971, a member of the second graduating class following the 1969 merger, and graduated San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Psychology in 1976. While in San Francisco, she met her husband, Michael Kehoe; the couple moved to Minneapolis in 1978, and raised their two children, Benjamin and Rebecca, in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood.
Greenman’s career began in San Francisco at a residential program for children with autism and at a center for victims of sexual assault and incest. These early experiences inspired interests in social work and organizational development--interests which culminated in a Masters in Social Work from the University of Minnesota in 1981. After earning her MSW, Greenman became Executive Director of Alexandra House, a Twin Cities organization dedicated to ending domestic violence. She joined Family & Children’s Service, now The Family Partnership, in 1986, and became its CEO in 2004.
Under Greenman’s leadership, The Family Partnership deepened its work with marginalized communities and with families impacted by generational inequity and trauma using a holistic approach that works with entire families. As the organization’s leader, Greenman focused The Family Partnership’s work on brain science by developing the Executive Functioning Across Generations™ curriculum--a recipient of the Minnesota Council on Nonprofits’ Mission Award for Innovation. National pilots of the curriculum are underway through a collaboration with partners including the Harvard Center on the Developing Child Frontiers of Innovation. She has worked with Minnesota legislators and 70+ statewide partners to enact Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Law for Sexually Exploited Youth, and has helped to increase the number of clinical social workers from BIPOC communities while providing increased services to new immigrants, refugees, and the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.
In 2011, The Family Partnership merged with Minneapolis-based nonprofit Reuben Lindh Family Services, which expanded the organization's reach to early childhood and parenting development. The program now includes two multicultural preschools: one in North Minneapolis serving the African-American community; and the Four Directions early learning center serving the American Indian community.
A firm believer in partnerships, Greenman is a leader in local and national social sector networks. She has served on boards of the Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC), Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, and the Social Current (formerly known as the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities). In 2007, she co-founded the MACC CommonWealth, an innovative model of shared administrative services that now serves over 50 partner community-based organizations in Minnesota. She has recently joined the board of directors of Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, the oldest African-American community organization in Minnesota. Greenman continues to be active in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood and is a leader in the efforts to rebuild Lake Street following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
St. Paul Academy and Summit School is proud to recognize the work of Molly Greenman and present her with the Distinguished Alumni/ae Award for 2023.
2018 - Ruth S. Huss '57
Ruth S. Huss ’57 is the recipient of the 2018 St. Paul Academy and Summit School Distinguished Alumni/ae Award. Mrs. Huss is the epitome of civic-minded leadership, with a quiet but indomitable passion for the educational, social awareness, and artistic institutions of the Twin Cities.
She is a 1957 graduate of Summit School, where the curriculum’s emphasis on the role of art, music, and community service within a rigorous liberal arts education made a strong impression. After earning her B.A. from Smith College in 1961, she moved to New York City, where she worked for the conservation department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The years that followed included world travel to Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and a return to Saint Paul, where she met and married her husband, John, in 1972.
Mrs. Huss’s global perspective and fearless curiosity, combined with her deep understanding of the power and importance of the arts, human services, and education have been the driving force behind her dedicated service to her community for the past five decades. She has served on the boards of many of Minnesota’s most important institutions, including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Opera, the Alexander Ramsey House, and Camp Widjiwagen. Together, she and John are among the Twin Cities’ most generous philanthropists and ardent ambassadors. The organizations they support are a testament to the value of intellectual inquiry, social connectedness and artistic expression of all kinds: the Ordway Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Public Radio and Television, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, People, Inc., Hazelden, Habitat for Humanity, the Minnesota State Fair, and The Center for Victims of Torture have been transformed by significant gifts from Ruth and John Huss.
For the last two decades, St. Paul Academy and Summit School has been the grateful recipient of Mrs. Huss’s advocacy, service, and philanthropy. She served on the Board of Trustees from 2005 to 2016, and, along with her husband, is a charter member of SPA’s Torch and Lamp Society. In 2000, she established the Camp Widjiwagen fund at SPA in honor of her father, Henry Putnam ’25, to provide ongoing funding for student trips to Camp Widjiwagen. In 2004, she established the Huss Chair in Modern Literature, which provides SPA English faculty with professional development support. And in 2014, she and her husband made the leadership gift for the construction of the Huss Center for the Performing Arts, the Randolph Campus’s state-of-the-art performance facility. Since its opening in 2015, the Huss Center has become the heart of the Randolph Campus and a signature component of the school’s commitment to the performing arts.
Throughout her life, Ruth Huss has devoted herself to improving the lives of Minnesotans through art, music, and education. Her devotion to her school, her city, and to the ideals of the liberal arts is a powerful testament to the mission of SPA: shaping the minds and the hearts of the people who will change the world.
2016 - Charles A. Zelle '73
Charles A. Zelle ’73 is the recipient of the 2016 St. Paul Academy and Summit School Distinguished Alumni/ae Award. Zelle is a nationally-recognized leader in the transportation sector who currently serves as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT). In appointing Zelle to the position in 2012, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton described him as “a successful, innovative businessman…with a strong commitment to public service.”
These qualities of innovation and public service have defined Zelle’s entire career, which began at a Wall Street firm in New York. He was soon called home to Saint Paul, however, to take on the challenge of reviving the floundering family business, the Jefferson Lines transportation company. Jefferson Lines was founded by the Zelle family in 1919, but when Zelle returned to Minnesota in 1986, he found the company faltering due to poor investment decisions, the impact of government deregulation, and union conflicts.
Determined to keep the family business afloat, Zelle made what he has since called his "George Bailey" decisions, beginning with taking the company into Chapter 11. This gave Jefferson Lines the opportunity to restructure staff and operations, and develop a long-term plan for a sustainable future. After reducing the size of its fleet and service area and bringing on a new partner to improve the company's liquidity, Zelle brought Jefferson Lines back from the brink and put it on the road to success. The business today is under the management of a third generation of Zelles and is the second-largest bus company in the country.
This business savvy and commitment to success was recognized in 2012, when Governor Dayton tapped him for the MNDOT Commissioner post. In this role, Zelle oversees the management and maintenance of Minnesota's roadways and multiple modes of transportation. He has also continued his commitment to public service, serving on the boards of the Guthrie Theater, the Jerome Foundation, the Itasca Project, the Minneapolis Club, and St. Paul Academy and Summit School. His service to SPA has included multiple years on the Board of Trustees and as Board president. He is widely recognized for his contributions to the transportation industry and his commitment to the road safety of Minnesotans; he was the recipient of the George Rucker Award in 2009 and the Ray L Lappegaard Distinguished Service Award in 2012.
Born and raised in Saint Paul, Zelle is a member of SPA’s Class of 1973. He was a leader in the performing arts and also participated on the hockey, cross country, and soccer teams. He was the recipient of both the McNeil V. Seymour Bowl (for excellence in the arts and for making the greatest overall contribution to the arts program) and the Dramatics Trophy (for outstanding contribution to the Dramatics Program).
After graduating from SPA in 1973, Zelle earned a B.A. from Bates College in Maine and later received his M.B.A from the Yale School of Management in 1983. He and his wife Julie Brooks Zelle ’79 are the parents of two SPA graduates, Charlotte ‘10 and Nick ‘13. He has continued his commitment to the school as an alumnus, the parent of alumni/ae, a volunteer and Board member, and as a passionate advocate for the school. The entire SPA community is grateful to Charlie Zelle for his dedication to SPA, its students, and its future.
2012 - The Honorable Edward C. Stringer '53
The Honorable Edward C. Stringer, retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, is the recipient of the 2012 St. Paul Academy and Summit School Distinguished Alumni/ae Award.
Justice Stringer graduated from St. Paul Academy in 1953 and then attended Amherst College, where he majored in American Studies and graduated Cum Laude in 1957. He is also a 1960 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, where he was awarded the Order of the Coif and Cum Laude honors.
From 1960 to 1970, Justice Stringer practiced law with the Stringer, Donnelly and Sharood firm, founded by his father Philip Stringer (SPA ’17). In 1970 he joined the St. Paul firm Briggs & Morgan as head of the antitrust department, a position he held until 1980 when he joined the Pillsbury Company as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. In 1989, he was appointed by newly-elected President George H. W. Bush to the office of General Counsel of the U. S. Department of Education in Washington D.C. He served through 1991 when he returned to Minnesota to join the staff of Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson. As the Governor’s Chief of Staff he was responsible for all operational aspects of the Governor’s office. In 1994, Governor Carlson appointed him to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Stringer was sworn in on September 1, 1994 as the 76th Associate Justice of the Court. He retired from the Supreme Court in 2002.
Justice Stringer served as a trustee of St. Paul Academy and Summit School for more than a decade, from 1994 until his term expired in 2006.
Justice Stringer has four children and one stepson, all of whom graduated from SPA: Philip Stringer ’78, Lucy Stringer ’79, Charlie Stringer ’81, Carolyn Stringer ’84, and Brian Green ‘87. His grandson, McNeil Stringer, is a member of the Class of 2011 and the fourth generation of Stringers to graduate from the School. Justice Stringer and his wife Virginia live on Sanibel Island, Florida.
Pictures from the 2012 Distinguished Alumni/ae Award Dinner can be found on SPA's SmugMug page. Videos of the evening's speeches can be found on SPA's YouTube page.
2009 - George E. Tesar, M.D., '69
George E. Tesar ’69, M.D., has been named the Distinguished Alumni/ae Award recipient at St. Paul Academy and Summit School for 2009.
Following his graduation from SPA, Tesar graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1973 with a B.A. in philosophy and psychology, and with an M.D. from Mayo Clinic Medical School in 1977. He is currently chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Cleveland (OH) Clinic Foundation, where he was presented with the Clinic’s Bruce Hubbard Stewart Award for Humanistic Medicine in 2001. The award honors physicians who combine sensitivity and compassion with knowledge and skill in the practice of medicine.
Tesar has been a Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry, Instructor of Psychiatry and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, all at Harvard Medical School. He has served as a Psychiatric Resident Supervisor and teacher and on several committees at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and is a recipient of the MGH Burning Candle Award and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Exemplary Psychiatrist Award. He has presented research, lectures and published scholarly articles on various topics in psychiatric medicine.
Tesar's professional roles include service as Past President of the Cleveland Psychiatric Society, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board for the Cleveland Chapter of NAMI, Member of the PRITE Editorial Board of the American College of Psychiatrists, Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Society, and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
2007 - Edith Nye MacMullen '47
Edith Nye MacMullen is a 1947 graduate of Summit School. In 1972, after many years of teaching at various levels, she became Director of the Teacher Preparation Program as well as Lecturer in the History Department at Yale University, and remained there until her retirement in 2000. The Teacher Preparation Program offers undergraduates and graduate students an opportunity to study educational history and contemporary issues in schooling while preparing for certification as early childhood, middle school, or high school teachers.
MacMullen holds two advanced degrees in history, an MA from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Her research work focused on the school reform impulse, particularly in the Antebellum and Progressive eras, and she is the author of In the Cause of True Education: Henry Barnard and Nineteenth Century Educational Reform. In 1995, the Yale chapter of Phi Beta Kappa awarded her the William Clyde DeVane Medal, which honors distinction in scholarship and undergraduate teaching.
Participation in educational endeavors has been a constant in MacMullen’s career. She served on several State of Connecticut commissions, was co-founder of an experimental high school in the 1970s, a founding trustee of two charter schools in the 1990s, and served on her local Connecticut Board for Education for nine years. For many years she was active in the Yale-China Association, a non-profit group focusing on education in and about China, acting as chair of the Teaching Committee and vice-chair of the board; she is now an Honorary Trustee. Since retiring and moving to Amherst, Mass., she has become an interpretive guide at Historic Deerfield and at the Emily Dickinson Museum. She is currently an Amherst Town Meeting member and recently completed a six-year term as chair of the Amherst Historical Commission.
MacMullen counts as her greatest achievement the careers of her children; three are teachers, two married teachers, and the fourth is a social worker. Sandy teaches history and coaches at the Hopkins School in New Haven, Conn., where his wife is Dean of Faculty; Polly teaches French and coaches at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire; Willy, after years of teaching and coaching is now Headmaster of The Taft School in Connecticut, and his wife is a dean and teaches English; and Lukey is an executive in a health care firm after years of working with mental health clients.
2007 - Mary Ann Barrows Wark '65
Mary Ann Barrows Wark is a 1965 graduate of Summit School, and a 1969 graduate of Radcliffe College, where she earned an AB degree in government. She earned her MAT in elementary and secondary social studies from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1971 and her JD from Boston University in 1974.
Wark is a longtime volunteer for St. Paul Academy and Summit School and an active volunteer in the Twin Cities’ arts, education and religious communities. At SPA, she served as a member of the Board of Trustees (1990-2005), where she was Vice President and Chair of the Education Committee. During her tenure as Chair of the Education Committee, the Board reviewed several far-reaching policies, including an independent division to support Middle School students and a comprehensive diversity plan for the school. The committee reviewed the use of technology in the classroom, which resulted in a laptop program for students in grades 7-10, and the addition of a non-Western language, achieved in Fall 2004 when Mandarin Chinese was added to the Middle and Upper School curriculum. A review of Upper School teaching methods made it possible for the school to implement the Harkness method of instruction in Fall 2004.
The Education Committee also reviewed the faculty evaluation process, student evaluations, and the role of community service in the school curriculum. The committee discussed the philosophy which led to the creation of the health and wellness program and oversaw the creation of a K-12 school curriculum plan, which led to the appointment of a K-12 Academic Dean. The committee monitored plans for curriculum revisions and enhancements, which led to the creation of several endowed funds for curriculum development, and reviewed important issues related to the makeup of the student population, including admission, financial aid and tuition remission policies.
Wark served on the Head of School Search Committees that resulted in the appointments of Frank Magusin (1993-2000) and Pam Clarke (2000-2005). She has been a generous contributor to the school, including endowing the Wark Curriculum Development Fund to provide faculty stipends for curriculum development projects. She and her family have provided leadership support for the academic technology program and contributed generously to the Annual Fund and unrestricted capital activities of the school.
Wark has a lifelong interest in education and currently teaches preschool at Jean Lyle Children’s Center in Saint Paul. She has served on the Resources for Child Caring board since 1978, serving as President from 1985-1986 and chairing its first capital campaign (2001-2007). She served on the MacPhail Center for Music board from 1989-2000 and the Children’s Museum board. She served as President, co-chair of the capital campaign and co-chair for the 150th anniversary of Mount Zion Temple. She and her husband, David, are the parents of Barry Wark ’98, and David’s children, Kathleen and Jeffry.
2006 - William C. Canby Jr. '49
William C. Canby Jr. earned his A.B. degree in English from Yale University in 1953, and his LL.B. from University of Minnesota College of Law in 1956. He was a United States Air Force Lieutenant in the JAG Corps (Judge Advocate General) from 1956-1958 and served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Charles E. Whittaker of the United States Supreme Court from 1958-1959.
From 1959-1962 he was in private practice with Oppenheimer Hodgson Brown Baer & Wolff of Saint Paul, then joined the Peace Corps, where he helped establish programs in Ethiopia and Uganda. He was Associate Director of the Peace Corps for Ethiopia from 1962-1963 and Deputy Director from 1963-1964, and Director for Uganda 1964-1966.
Canby was special assistant to U.S. Senator Walter F. Mondale in Washington, D.C., in 1966, and special assistant to President Harris Wofford of the State University of New York at Old Westbury in 1967. Later that year he joined the faculty at Arizona State University, where he was a professor of law from 1967-1980. He was also Director of the Office of Indian Law at ASU College of Law, and in 1970-1971 he was a visiting Fulbright professor of law at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
While at ASU, Canby taught Indian Law and authored Nutshell on American Indian Law (now in its fourth edition), required reading to this day by many professors whose students study Indian Law. The treatise has been cited in numerous federal appellate decisions and by the Supreme Court. Although somewhat unusual for a sitting federal appellate judge, Canby has been asked to testify about federal Indian Law and policy regularly by the U.S. Congress.
President Jimmy Carter nominated Canby to the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, April 2, 1980, to a seat vacated by Ozell Miller Trask. He was confirmed by the Senate May 21, 1980, and received commission May 23, 1980. He assumed senior status May 23, 1996.
Judge Canby and his wife, Jane Adams Canby ’51, currently live in Scottsdale, Arizona.
2005 - Finlay Lewis '56
Finlay Lewis has used his reporting expertise to leave a profound and lasting impact on the political world. From St. Paul Academy’s student newspaper, Now and Then, through stints with the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Copley News Service to his current job as a national political correspondent, his professional accomplishments have carried him through more than four decades of presidents, policies and political intrigue.
Mr. Lewis has been a White House and national political correspondent since 1998, served as the congressional and national political correspondent from 1987-1992 for the Copley News Service, and was the service’s economics and trade correspondent and columnist in Washington, D.C. from 1992-1998.
From 1977 to 1987, he was the Washington bureau chief for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Washington correspondent for the Minneapolis Tribune from 1972-1977. He began his career with the Tribune in 1965 as a reporter, covering the courts as well as city and state politics. His career in journalism began as a reporter-copy editor at the Duluth News Tribune in 1964.
Mr. Lewis has had many notable assignments throughout his career, including anchoring the Minneapolis Tribune’scoverage of the Watergate scandal; the move to impeach President Richard Nixon and the president’s decision to resign in 1972-1974; writing the first stories disclosing Ross Perot’s attempts to sway the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee using campaign contributions in 1975; disclosed CIA assassination plots against dictators Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo in 1975; and covered Walter Mondale’s presidential campaign for the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1983-1984.
He was the lead reporter for Copley News Service covering the Iran-Contra affair in 1987; anchored Copley’s coverage of the Persian Gulf War in 1991; reported from Russia on Communism’s collapse and its troubled passage to a market economy in 1992; covered the political struggle over approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994; was a lead reporter in covering President Bill Clinton’s impeachment and Senate trial in 1997-1998; anchored Copley’s coverage of the Kosovo war in 1999; and covered the White House role in prosecuting the United States’ war on terror from 2001-2003.
Mr. Lewis has reported on every presidential campaign from 1972-2004 and covered nearly every G7/G8 Summit from 1992-2005. He was assigned to three Summits of the Americas as well as the 2004 APEC Summit in Chile. He has also been a panelist on National Public Radio’s Diane Rehm Show since 2003, was President of the Gridiron Club in 1999, and is a three-time winner of Copley News Service’s Ring of Truth award.
A prolific writer, Lewis authored Mondale: Portrait of an American Politician in 1980 and has been a contributor to The Nation, The Columbia Journalism Review, The Washington Monthly, Washington Post Outlook section, The New Republic, Political Profiles and more.
In 1960, Finlay received a degree in American political history from Harvard College. He attended the University of Paris in 1960-1961, and the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., in 1962, where he earned honors in the study of Korean. He worked for the Army Security Agency from 1961-1964 and as a Korean linguist-cryptographer in Seoul from 1962-1964.
2004 - Carolyn “Kelly” Earl Davis ’31
Carolyn “Kelly” Earl Davis ’31 has been an enthusiastic volunteer and leader at St. Paul Academy and Summit School since she was a student.
Her long legacy at the school began when she was a leader in student government, academics and athletics. She went on to Smith College, from which she graduated in 1935. She and her husband, Ned Davis ’30, married in 1936 and soon settled in St. Paul.
Kelly served as a trustee of Summit School from 1950-1961. She was also president of the Summit School Parents’ Association. In 1992 and 1997, Kelly headed up the 75th and 80th anniversaries of Summit School. Her plans for the 80th anniversary included a parade, pony rides, a birthday cake and the dedication of the then-new Lower School playground… just as she herself was approaching 80!
In 1994, Kelly received the Amici Academiae Award (Friend of the School) for her volunteer service to the school. The citation read, in part, “A prime example of longtime and selfless service, Kelly has been an uniquely active and effective trustee, president of the Parents’ Association and Alumni/ae Council member. Kelly sets the gold standard for commitment to the school.”
Kelly’s penchant for service to others continues today. As a resident of Friendship Village, a comprehensive life care retirement community Bloomington, Minn., Kelly served as chair of a committee to improve the health care facilities and program. Her limitless energy transcended the differences between residents, architects, staff and administrators. She galvanized the community and orchestrated an action plan for construction of the project which all constituents could embrace.
Kelly’s spirit of giving and community service has been passed down through her family, as the entire Davis clan has served as dedicated alumni/ae volunteers. Each of them, from Kelly on down, has served in every possible role in the SPA community, from Annual Fund phonathon volunteer to Class Agent to Alumni/ae Council member to reunion organizer to trustee.
Her daughters, Sally Davis Patterson ’57, Jane Davis Bennett ’59 and Mary Davis Dewart ’66, all attended Summit School. Sally married an SPA alumnus, Tom Patterson ’57, and the couple have two sons who are alumni of the school — Ned Patterson ’83 and John Patterson ’86. Ned and John’s children, Kelly’s great-grandchildren, are currently students at the school — Sela Patterson ’14 and Kevin Patterson ’15.
Kelly was honored with a Distinguished Alumni/ae Award dinner at the Randolph Campus Thursday, October 28, 2004.
2003 - William E. Pedersen '56
Mr. Pedersen, a New York-based architect perhaps best known for urban and tall building design, received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota in 1961 and a Master of Architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1963, where he was a Whitney Fellow. In 1965 he won the Rome Prize in Architecture.
In the years leading to the founding of Kohn Pedersen Fox in 1976, Mr. Pedersen was Vice President of John Carl Warnecke and Associates (1971-76), an associate with I. M. Pei and Partners (1967-71), and a designer with Eduardo Catalano (1964-65), Pietro Belluschi (1963) and Leonard Parker (1961). Mr. Pedersen has received numerous design awards for his work at Kohn Pedersen Fox. These include the 1990 American Institute of Architects Architectural Firm Award, the New York Chapter of the AIA Gold Medal of Honor in 1989, the New York Chapter of the AIA 1999 President's Award, and five National AIA Honor Awards for New Academic Complex, The City University of New York/Baruch College (2003); The World Bank Headquarters, Washington, D.C. (1998); Westendstraße 1, Frankfurt, Germany (1994); Procter and Gamble World Headquarters, Cincinnati, Ohio (1987); and 333 Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois (1984).
In 1998, Mr. Pedersen was awarded the Gold Medal for lifetime achievement in architecture from Tau Sigma Delta National Architectural Society. Additional honors include the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture for Contributions in Architecture as an Art (1985), awarded by the American Academy and the Institute of Arts and Letters, and the 1990 University of Minnesota Alumni Achievement Award. Presently, he is designing the world's tallest building in Shanghai, China, and the New York Jets stadium in Manhattan.
Mr. Pedersen has been a visiting critic at the Rhode Island School of Design, Columbia University, Harvard University, and held the Eero Saarinen Chair at Yale University in 1986. In addition, he has been honored as the Herbert S. Greenward Distinguished Professor in Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a member of the Architectural League, the New York State Association of Architects, and the Society of Architectural Historians. He is an Honorary Member of the St. Paul Chapter of the AIA, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and of the American Academy in Rome.
The work of Kohn Pedersen Fox has been presented in seven monographs. The most recent, Kohn Pedersen Fox - Architecture and Urbanism 1993-2002, is published by Rizzoli of New York.
2002 - Daniel G. Ritchie '60
Mr. Ritchie has been involved with international development activities for nearly 40 years. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya in 1964-1966, was a graduate student in Bangladesh in 1967 and was a staff member of the World Bank from 1968-1998.
He currently serves as a consultant to the World Bank, as well as several non-governmental organizations, dealing with education and corruption in developing countries.
After graduating from SPA, Mr. Ritchie received his B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 1964, and an MPA from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in 1967, as well as a management training certificate from INSEAD, the European School of Business Administration, in 1996. Mr. Ritchie was accepted into the World Bank's internship program in 1968, where he served as a Loan Officer for Yemen; worked as Deputy Secretary of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research; Agriculture Division Chief for Yugoslavia and Romania; Assistant Director of Personnel; Chief of India Operations; Director of the Asia Region Technical Department; and Director of the North Africa and Iran department.
After retiring in 1998, he has continued to work almost full-time for the World Bank, managing its community outreach program and leading the effort to establish an educational fund in Washington, D.C., to support public school reform. He is also Secretary and Vice Chair of the Partnership for Transparency Fund, an international anti-corruption organization; a Board member of Kabissa, a non-governmental organization promoting civil society use of the Internet in Africa; and he manages a scholarship fund in Kenya for secondary school students in memory of his late step-brother, Bill Budd '54, husband of Nancy Monick Budd '55.
2001 - Dr. Karen Hsiao Ashe '72
Dr. Ashe is a Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Director of the Aging and Alzheimer Research Laboratory.
She led the team at the University that developed the Tg2576 mouse that develops signs of Alzheimer's Disease as it ages, thus paving the way for drug research and therapies, and a deeper understanding of the disease around the world. The development of the mouse was named one of the Top 10 Medical Advances by Harvard Medical School in 1996. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) hailed the mouse model for its usefulness in testing drugs that affect the disease process, not just those that treat its symptoms.
Dr. Ashe received her Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and physics in 1975 from Radcliffe College, Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude. In 1981, she received her Ph.D. in developmental neuroanatomy from Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and in 1982 received her M.D. from Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program, Harvard Medical School. She completed a neurology residency at the University of California-San Francisco.
2001 - Dr. Charles Berde '69
Dr. Berde is a Professor of Anesthesia and Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and is co-founder and director of the Pain Treatment Service at Children's Hospital in Boston, Mass. Established in 1986, the Pain Treatment Service was the first comprehensive clinic to specialize in the treatment of children with complex chronic pain conditions. Dr. Berde received a Ph.D. in Biophysics in addition to his M.D. at Stanford.
He completed residencies in pediatrics and anesthesiology at Boston Children's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Berde directs a diverse group of clinicians, including pediatric anesthesiologists, neurologists, psychologists, physical therapists and acupuncturists, using a multidisciplinary approach to chronic pain. He directs a clinical research group that conducts clinical trials of different methods of pain treatment in children. He also directs a laboratory research program that investigates mechanisms of action of local anesthetics, development of novel prolonged-duration local anesthetics, and peripheral and spinal mechanisms of pain perception.
Dr. Berde was featured in Time magazine's "Heroes of Medicine."
2000 - C. E. Bayliss Griggs '35*
Mr. Griggs' career of service was an example of "close to home" leadership. As a trustee from 1971-80, and as president of the board from 1972-76, Mr. Griggs chaired A New Design for Education Campaign, the $8 million campaign which funded the new school. At that time, the school had recently completed the merger between SPA and Summit, both campuses had undergone major renovations and building programs, and inflation and other financial factors placed pressure on admissions and operating costs. With leadership, humor and wit, Mr. Griggs involved his board and many community volunteers in the process of moving the new school forward, hiring headmaster Bill Harris, and completing construction, endowment and other initiatives remaining after the merger campaign was complete.
He continued to work quietly and positively on behalf of the school. As a student, he participated in the hockey, golf, baseball and rifle teams, was secretary of the student council, and was on the staff of Now and Then. He was president of the Skylight Club and Battalion Commander in the military. Mr. Griggs received a B.A. from Yale University in 1939. He returned to St. Paul to join the family business, Griggs, Cooper & Co., a manufacturing grocery wholesaler. When World War II broke out, Mr. Griggs was commissioned in the Air Transport Command, USAAF while in West Africa.
He served as airbase commander in key airports at Accra, Ghana; Luxor and Cairo, Egypt; Teheran, Iran; Nairobi, Kenya; Salala, Arabia; and Naha, Okinawa; and rose to the rank of captain. As an insurance executive, Mr. Griggs was an agent for the Aetna, Western and Minnesota Mutual Life insurance companies, and a vice-president of Alexander & Alexander, Inc. He was a director of many community organizations including the St. Paul Council of Arts and Sciences, Ordway Theatre, Science Museum of Minnesota, the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation, United Hospitals and Guthrie Theatre.
2000 - Sandra Bemis Roe '59
Mrs. Roe exemplifies the guiding principles which form our school mission: leadership, service, and a lifelong love of learning. Above all, she is devoted to children and education. She is a 1959 graduate of Summit School, and a 1963 graduate of Tufts University. She was a member of the Lower School faculty from 1979-89, team-teaching in grades five and six. She is the first faculty member to be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
During her tenure on the faculty, Mrs. Roe served as a member of the Lower School Playground Committee, which made recommendations for major changes in the playgrounds and outdoor space on the Goodrich Campus. After resigning from the faculty in 1989, she co-chaired the mini-campaign to raise the funds to make playground improvements. In 1990, she joined the board of trustees and quickly had an impact. She served on the Finance, Executive and Development committees. She chaired the Committee on Trustees, which was responsible for recruiting, training and mentoring a dynamic new group of leaders for the school.
Elected vice-president in 1993, Mrs. Roe exhibited extraordinary leadership and vision in guiding the school toward the future. Among her many accomplishments, she agreed to undertake the lead role in the $26 million Campaign for St. Paul Academy and Summit School. The success of the capital campaign resulted in improvements to existing facilities including renovations of the Randolph Campus library, music rehearsal spaces and Goodrich Campus classrooms, and the addition of new facilities including the Middle School, Summit Center and Dining Hall. The campaign also increased the endowment to improve faculty development and compensation, curriculum development and financial aid.
1999 - Roger G. Kennedy '44
Those who answer the call to public service commonly are energetic, passionate and visionary people committed to working for the public good. Roger G. Kennedy '44 is no exception.
A prolific writer, former banker, broadcast journalist and veteran of six presidential commissions, he has worked for the departments of Labor, Justice and Health, Education and Welfare.
From 1993 to 1997, Kennedy led the U.S. National Park Service through its first successful restructuring since World War II, by emphasizing public education and improved wilderness and ecosystem management. Before that, he served for 14 years as the director of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, and for the 10 previous years as vice president of the Ford Foundation.
An award-winning historical author, he's penned many books and articles on the history and architecture of the United States, including Rediscovering America, the basis of the Discovery channel's program, "Roger Kennedy's Rediscovering America." His 1999 effort, Burr, Hamilton and Jefferson: A Study in Character, paints a portrait of powerful politicians in early America.
1998 - Joan Adams Mondale '48*
Mrs. Mondale developed a "disciplined curiosity" while at Summit School, which she nurtured throughout her endeavors. She was an artist and advocate for the arts from the time of her graduation from Macalester College, where she majored in history and minored in art and French.
An accomplished writer and talented ceramist, she published several books, including Politics in Art (1972). In 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States and Mrs. Mondale's husband, Walter Mondale, was elected Vice President.
In recognition of the importance of the arts, President Carter appointed Mrs. Mondale head of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities in 1977. She traveled throughout the country encouraging public and private support for the arts. Through her advocacy of the arts, Mrs. Mondale came to be affectionately known as "Joan of Art."
With the appointment of her husband as United States Ambassador to Japan in 1993, Mrs. Mondale moved to Tokyo. She arranged for the loan of paintings, prints, photographs and crafts from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, under the auspices of the State Department's Art-in-Embassies program.
Throughout her 40 years of advocacy of the arts, Joan Adams Mondale found the time to forge her own artistic identity. She continued to grow artistically, working closely in the creation of pottery under the eye of her mentor of many years, Warren MacKenzie. She willingly lent her name to and promoted aesthetic causes, thereby enhancing a lifelong nurturing of the arts.
1997 - Stanley Shepard '47
Mr. Shepard is a dedicated educator, an avid volunteer and a source of advice, counsel and support to many community organizations. Mr. Shepard majored in English at Yale University, graduating in 1951. He served for two years in the Navy before embarking on a teaching career that took him from Colorado to Massachusetts.
He taught history at Wellesley (Mass.) High School for ten years. In addition to working on the Boston School Planning Project, Mr. Shepard earned a Master's degree from Harvard University in 1961, and a Ph.D. in 1970.
When he returned to St. Paul, Mr. Shepard helped establish the Development Office at the newly merged St. Paul Academy and Summit School. He also became Senior Program Officer at the Bush Foundation. While at the Bush Foundation, Mr. Shepard developed a research and evaluation program for Native American tribal colleges throughout the country, and an early childhood research program involving faculty from UCLA, the University of Michigan and Yale University.
Mr. Shepard has served numerous organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, the St. Paul Rehabilitation Center and the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul. His service as president of the Board of Trustees of St. Paul Academy and Summit School was distinguished by a commitment to faculty development and building a student financial aid program. Stanley Shepard has amassed an impressive record of service to the community and remains an advisor and friend of the school.
1996 - Ann Bancroft '74
Ms. Bancroft is a pioneer, adventurer and mentor. The first woman to travel to both the North and South Pole by non-motorized means, her experiences are a source of inspiration and pride.
Ms. Bancroft graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in education. She returned to the Twin Cities to mentor students as a physical education teacher, and later began her career as an explorer, becoming the first woman to travel by dogsled to the North Pole.
As a member of Will Steger's 1986 International Polar Expedition, Ms. Bancroft endured a grueling 55-day journey under extreme arctic conditions. In 1993, she led the American Women's Expedition (AWE) to the South Pole. Skiing more than 660 miles across the ice of Antarctica, Ms. Bancroft and her team made history as the first all-woman team to travel to the South Pole without dogs or motorized vehicles.
Ms. Magazine named her Woman of the Year in 1986.
In 1995, Ms. Bancroft was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, joining the company of Ella Fitzgerald, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Elizabeth Dole. She also received the Outstanding Learning Disabled Achiever Award from the Lab School of Washington, D.C., for her efforts as a role model for learning-disabled students.
Ann Bancroft continues to urge students around the country to seek challenges in all areas of life.
1995 - William Frenzel '46*
Congressman Frenzel enriched the quality of American life through his thoughtful approach to issues and his dedication to finding solutions throughout his distinguished career in public service.
An admired legislator at both the state and national level, he selflessly devoted a lifetime to public service and earned the trust and admiration of legislators throughout the world. Mr. Frenzel began his political career early on as President of the Student Council at St. Paul Academy. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1950, and served in the Navy in the Korean War. He was a member of the Minnesota Legislature from 1962-1970, and then won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1971.
Soon after arriving in Washington, Mr. Frenzel became recognized as a leader in the congressional effort to resolve the budgetary issues facing the country. From 1975-90, he held a seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. In 1988, he was appointed to the National Economic Commission. After retiring from the House in 1991, Congressman Frenzel remained active in public policy as a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution. In 1993, he was appointed special advisor to President William Jefferson Clinton, helping to lead the campaign for approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
1994 - John M. Doar '40*
Mr. Doar was an important figure in the U.S. Civil Rights movement, quietly assuming a key role at a time of phenomenal social change. He helped draft civil rights legislation, diffused a riot in Mississippi, and counseled the House Judiciary Committee's 1974 impeachment inquiry of President Nixon.
After graduating from St. Paul Academy in 1940, Mr. Doar attended Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude in 1944. He served as an officer in the field artillery and the Air Force during World War II, then went on to study law at the University of California at Berkeley. After practicing law with the family firm in New Richmond, Wisc., during the 1950s, Mr. Doar joined the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department in 1960.
He helped draft the Civil Rights Act of 1963 and acted as chief government attorney in landmark voting rights cases in Louisiana and Mississippi. He supervised the protection of James Meredith, the first black student admitted to the University of Mississippi. Mr. Doar was also responsible for dispersing an angry crowd which sought to avenge the death of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
In 1964, he received the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. Mr. Doar left the Justice Department to become president of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Development Corporation, an organization aimed at restoring and developing housing in New York City's most depressed neighborhood.
In 1973, Mr. Doar was called back to Washington, D.C., to advise the impeachment inquiry of President Nixon as Special Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee. Hard working and fair, John Doar took great personal and professional risks in bringing the country toward a more equal and just society.
1993 - Virginia McKnight Binger '34
The life of Mrs. Binger was an eloquent testament to unique and empowering leadership in community service. As an individual and as the long-time head of the McKnight Foundation, she has made an important difference in the lives of thousands of people. Mrs. Binger provided the impetus and the inspiration for a thoughtful and innovative philanthropic program that identifies and responds to the needs of individuals in ways that encourage their full potential.
Never a stay-at-home philanthropist, Mrs. Binger was tireless in her determination to move about in the community, to assess human needs firsthand and to conduct the most thorough assessment of funded programs. From multi-million dollar gifts to Twin Cities housing programs, to the purchase of round-trip bus fare for a woman who otherwise could not have attended her mother's funeral in Alabama, Mrs. Binger provided critically needed funds with quiet compassion.
Through what she and the McKnight Foundation have contributed to the arts, education, housing, health and human services, Virginia McKnight Binger made an indelible impact on the community.
1993 - Robert Matteson '33
Robert Eliot Matteson’s vitae reads like a chronology of twentieth century American history. He brought Nazi war criminals to justice toward the end of World War II, was active in post-war disarmament and intelligence efforts, and undertook a series of adventures that took him around the globe.
After graduating from St. Paul Academy in 1933, Mr. Matteson graduated from Carleton College, cum laude, in 1937. He went on to receive a fellowship to the Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration, receiving his Masters in Political Science in 1940. He was a member of General Patton’s 3rd Army. In a daring mountaintop ambush he captured S.S. General Kaltenbrunner, who headed Hitler’s Gestapo. Mr. Matteson brought Kaltenbrunner to trial, and was in charge of U.S. security of the postwar trials in Nuremberg, Germany. His military honors include the Silver Star and four battle stars.
Mr. Matteson began a distinguished career in government in 1953, eventually serving under four presidents. He was Director of the White House Disarmament Staff, and a member of the U.S. Delegations to both the Five Power London Arms Control negotiations and the Ten Power Geneva Arms Control negotiations. He was on the CIA Board of National Intelligence Estimates and for six years was senior advisor to the Director of Arms Control Disarmament Administration. He served with distinction in Vietnam and from 1968-71 was Director of International Training at the Agency for International Development.
A tireless author and lecturer, Robert Matteson’s dedication to public service was always matched by a commitment to the environment and by a great love for the outdoors. He initiated and organized the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College and was environmental consultant to the secretaries of the Navy and Air Force. His own canoe trips took him across Canada to the Bering Sea, and down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. He also visited both the North and South Poles.
1992 - Sarah Davidson Wangensteen '26*
Mrs. Wagensteen was an author, editor and researcher whose career spanned seven decades. She edited several books, served as a magazine manager and co-authored what is considered the most comprehensive history of surgical practice.
After graduating from Summit School in 1926, Mrs. Wangensteen went on to graduate in 1930 from Vassar College, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Returning to Minnesota to begin her career as a historical researcher and medical historian, she assisted Theodore Blegen at the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota Graduate School. Together they co-edited the autobiography of Joseph Sibley's Native American guide, Iron Face. She also worked for the University of Minnesota Press, researching and editing a book about the Mayo brothers.
When World War II broke out, Mrs. Wangensteen joined Mr. Blegen in Washington, D.C., to work as an editor and writer. Upon returning to the Twin Cities, she became managing editor of Modern Medicine magazine. Later, she collaborated with her husband, Dr. Owen Wangensteen, on a number of scholarly articles and books on medical history, including The Rise of Surgery: From Empiric Craft to Scientific Discipline, a 785-page history of surgery, published in 1978.
Sarah Davidson Wangensteen also served as president of the Junior League of St. Paul and volunteered for the Minnesota Historical Society. She retired as Senior Medical Historian Emerita at the University of Minnesota.
1991 - Carl B. Drake, Jr. '37*
Mr. Drake was a business leader, civic activist, philanthropist and advocate for the arts and education. He influenced nearly every major institution in St. Paul.
After graduating from Yale University in 1941, and serving in the Navy during World War II, Mr. Drake returned to embark on an impressive career with St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company (now The St. Paul Companies). In 1973, he became president and chief executive officer, leading the organization to national prominence in the insurance industry.
Mr. Drake was a catalyst in the creation of the Ordway Music Theatre, and served on the Ordway's board of directors. He was a director of the Minnesota Orchestral Society, the United Way of St. Paul, United Arts and the Minnesota Independent School Forum. He was trustee of St. Paul Academy and Summit School and a life trustee of Macalester College.
As past chair of The F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Mr. Drake dealt creatively with some of St. Paul's most pressing educational and social needs. Under his leadership, the Foundation helped shape and fund projects that strengthened neighborhoods and improved educational opportunities for youth and adults.
Carl Drake is considered one of St. Paul's most effective private citizens. His life is a testament to the importance of corporate involvement in community affairs.
1990 - Irving B. Harris '27*
Mr. Harris was a successful businessman with an equally impressive career in philanthropy and community involvement. He was instrumental in advising the creation of Head Start, and he helped fund programs designed to assist the early development of at-risk children.
After graduating from St. Paul Academy 1927, Mr. Harris received his A.B. from Yale University in 1931 and was named to Phi Beta Kappa. He achieved national stature as a business leader while serving as Executive Vice President of the Toni Company. Gillette Safety Razor Company bought Toni in 1948, moving Mr. Harris to Chicago, where he assumed a directorship with Gillette that he maintained through 1960. He also served as president of the Harris Group and helped found the Pittway Corporation, a diversified publisher and manufacturer of smoke and burglar alarm systems.
As chairman of the Harris Foundation, Mr. Harris applied creative and innovative solutions to the needs of young children. He started the Erikson Institute for Early Childhood Education at Loyola University and the Yale Child Study Center. Mr. Harris is also founder of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, a unique public/private partnership designed to assist low-income families.
In addition to his impressive career in business, Irving B. Harris's efforts as a proponent of social change and involvement in public issues spanned more than 40 years. In 1990, the University of Chicago paid a fitting tribute to a man concerned about the challenges facing our society, renaming its Graduate School of Public Policy Studies the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies.
1989 - James J. Barnes '50
Professor Barnes is a scholar, historian and author. A Rhodes Scholar, Fulbright Scholar, Harvard University Woodrow Wilson Fellow and history professor at Wabash College, he has authored scholarly publications, including five books, numerous articles, reviews and papers.
After graduating from St. Paul Academy in 1950, Barnes went on to receive his bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Amherst College in 1954. He then studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, before obtaining his doctorate from Harvard University in 1960.
Professor Barnes received an honorary degree from the College of Wooster in 1976 for outstanding scholarship and teaching in history. He serves as History Department Chair and Hadley Professor of History at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
At Wabash since 1962, Professor Barnes also serves as a dedicated volunteer. The Crawfordsville Community Action Council, Crawfordsville Community Day Care Committee, the Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana Advisory Committee to State Rehabilitation Services for the Blind have all been the beneficiaries of his time and efforts.
1989 - Jean M. West '45
Ms. West is a civic activist and leader in the arts, business and politics. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, she has championed the causes of women, community development and the arts for more than 40 years.
As president of West Premium Corporation, and as a partner in Carleton J. West Publications, Ms. West has shared her business acumen in marketing and finance with a variety of community organizations.
From 1980 until 1989, Ms. West served as a commissioner of the St. Paul Port Authority. She lent her extraordinary talent in perennial service to nonprofit boards, including presidencies of the Chimera Theatre Company, Neighborhood House and COMPAS. Ms. West served as treasurer of the Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund, as a director of the Northwest Area Foundation, and has been a long-time advocate for The Minnesota Opera.
Through her community involvement, Jean West has enriched the culture, the humanity and the politics of the city she loves - St. Paul.
1988 - Mary Bigelow McMillan '37
Mary “Molly” Bigelow McMillan perfected the art of pioneering through volunteering. She was one of the first women to serve on the Ramsey County Welfare Board and the Wilder Foundation Board of Trustees. She was also among the first women ordained to the ministry in the Presbyterian church in the Twin Cities area.
Rev. McMillan received her B.S. in physics from Vassar College. In the 1950s, she served as President of the Junior League of St. Paul and was Regional Director for the Association of Junior Leagues of America. She has also received awards from the United Way and the YWCA.
Rev. McMillan served as interim president of the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and was a longtime member of its board of trustees. She served as assistant pastor of House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, and authored several articles about women in the ministry and theology school trusteeship.
As a trustee for The F.R. Bigelow Foundation, she oversaw the creation of the Children, Families, and Community Initiative and the Library Equity and Excellence Project for improving St. Paul neighborhoods and schools.
Mary Bigelow McMillan exemplifies dedication to service and seeking new tasks and challenges. She continues to inspire through her widespread participation in civic organizations and her commitment to spiritual growth.
1987 - Norris D. Jackson '13*
Mr. Jackson was a pioneer in the field of labor relations and was an active member of his community. He graduated from St. Paul Academy in 1913, and continued his education at Princeton University, receiving his LittB. in 1917. During World War I, he served to the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps.
Mr. Jackson worked for a clothing manufacturer in St. Paul until 1937, when Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen appointed him to the newly created Department of Labor Conciliation. From there, he went to Northwest Airlines, where he helped the company establish its own labor relations department.
After retiring in 1956, Mr. Jackson continued his community involvement. He served as a special assistant to the president of Macalester College and co-chaired the committee to rebuild the Unity Church after it was destroyed by fire in 1963. Mr. Jackson volunteered for the Community Chest and Red Cross, and served on the steering committee for the creation of the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.
Norris Jackson was a humble man concerned about the quality of life in his community. He served on the Board of Trustees of Summit School, enthusiastically supporting the school, its students and parents. Throughout his life, he demonstrated generosity of spirit and encouraged those around him.
1987 - Davidson Sommers '22*
Mr. Sommers had a distinguished career of public service, advising on policy issues ranging from public transportation to international economic development. He displayed care, warmth and humor throughout his career.
Mr. Sommers graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude in 1926, and was named to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his L.L.B, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1930. He then entered private practice in New York City. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Sommers moved into public service, working under Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia on the unification of the city's public transportation systems.
During World War II, he worked under Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy, advising the Joint Chiefs of Staff on international policy issues. He served to the rank of Lt. Colonel, and earned the Legion of Merit Award with Oak Leaf Cluster for his studies on issues surrounding the formation of the United Nations and the postwar occupation of Japan and Korea. In 1946, he joined the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which later became the World Bank, eventually rising to the position of general counsel.
In 1960, Mr. Sommers moved from the World Bank to the Equitable Life Assurance Society in New York, where he served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, then Chairman of the Board in 1969.
Davidson Sommers retired from Equitable in 1982. He turned his efforts to volunteer activities ranging from time visiting with the elderly and tutoring children from inner city Washington, D.C., to serving as an advisor to the World Bank president and as Vice Chairman of the Overseas Development Council.