Last modified: Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Senator David Ford posthumously awarded President’s Medal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana State Sen. David Ford has been posthumously awarded the President's Medal for Excellence by Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie. The award is one of the highest honors an IU president can bestow.
Ford, who passed away last March at age 59, received the Welsh-Bowen Distinguished Public Official Award from the university in 2007. An IU alumnus, he was a strong proponent of higher education, university research and building the state's information technology infrastructure.
His wife, Joyce, accepted the award on his behalf at a private ceremony for the Ford family on Saturday (Feb. 28) in Indianapolis.
"It is an honor to pay tribute to a great public servant and a true technology pioneer, who helped lead this state into the digital age," said McRobbie. "Senator Ford was one of the motivating forces behind the creation of I-Light, the high-speed, fiber-optic computing network that connects colleges and universities throughout the state and offers them a link to national computing networks. Indiana University is proud to count Senator Ford as one of our most distinguished graduates."
During the private ceremony, Senate Majority Caucus Chairman James Merritt (R-Indianapolis) also presented the Ford family with an award recognizing Ford's service in the Senate.
Ford was elected to the Indiana Senate in 1994. In 2007, he became assistant majority floor leader and chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Technology. Author and sponsor of at least 142 laws currently on the books, he also served on the Judiciary, Tax and Fiscal Policy, and Education and Career Development committees.
He earned both his bachelor's and law degrees from IU, and served as a member of the IU Information Technology Advancement Council.
The President's Medal for Excellence is a reproduction in fine silver of the symbolic jewel of office worn by the president at ceremonial occasions. Criteria for recipients include distinction in public service, service to IU, achievement in a profession, and/or extraordinary merit and achievement in the arts, humanities, science, education and industry.
For a complete list of winners, go to: https://www.indiana.edu/~ceremony/Medals/president medal list.shtml.
