Last modified: Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Four to receive IU’s highest alumni award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 16, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Four Indiana University graduates -- its first African-American trustee, a legendary sports broadcaster, a leader in philanthropy and a respected journalism executive -- will receive IU's Distinguished Alumni Service Award, the university's highest award given only to an alumna or alumnus.
The recipients are Cora Smith Breckenridge of Elkhart, Ind.; Richard A. "Dick" Enberg of La Jolla, Calif.; Curtis R. Simic of Bloomington; and Paul Tash of St. Petersburg, Fla.
IU President Michael A. McRobbie will present the awards Oct. 26. Nancy Hamblin, national chair of the IU Alumni Association, will preside at the presentation ceremony at the Henke Hall of Champions in Bloomington.
The Distinguished Alumni Service Award recipients were chosen for service and achievement in their fields of endeavor and significant contributions to community, state or nation. With the addition of these recipients, IU has honored 314 alumni since the award's inception in 1953.
Following are brief bios for each award recipient:
Cora Smith Breckenridge
Breckenridge earned her Bachelor of Science degree in speech and hearing therapy from IU in 1959. She added her master's in education in 1963. Retired from a career as a speech, language and hearing pathologist, Breckenridge made history when she was the first African-American to be elected to the Indiana University Board of Trustees in 1997. She served three terms on the board. She also served as president of the Elkhart County NAACP and was elected as a member of the National Board of Directors of the NAACP from 2000 until 2012.
Richard A. Enberg
The name Dick Enberg is familiar to sports fans all over the world. After beginning his broadcasting career at IU, where he earned advanced degrees in health and safety, Enberg has gone on to a distinguished career spanning more than half a century. He has broadcast virtually every major sporting event in the country and has won numerous professional honors, including 14 Emmy Awards. Enberg was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He worked with Billy Packer and Al McGuire in what has been heralded as the best basketball announcing team in television history.
Curtis R. Simic
Simic was a rider in the Little 500 and served on the IU Student Foundation, earning his bachelor's degree in physical education in 1964. He retired in 2008 from a career of more than 40 years in development at public and private institutions of higher learning, including his last 20 years of service and leadership at the helm of the IU Foundation. Simic has received numerous awards and honors, including the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's Lifetime Achievement Award, Indiana's Sagamore of the Wabash and IU's University Medal.
Paul Tash
Tash graduated from IU in 1976, majoring in journalism and political science. He accepted a prestigious Marshall Scholarship in Scotland. He began his career at the Times newspaper in the Tampa Bay, Fla., area, working as a reporter, city editor, metro editor, Washington bureau chief and executive editor. He is now chairman and CEO of the Times Publishing Co. and chairman of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He serves on the boards of the Pulitzer Prizes, The Associated Press and the Newspaper Association of America.
The IU Alumni Association is dedicated to serving the university and its diverse alumni, students and friends. As one of the nation's largest alumni organizations, serving more than 570,000 graduates worldwide, the IUAA provides many programs and services to its members, nonmember alumni and the university. For more information, call 800-824-3044.
