Alumni Day Awards

Alumni Day, first observed in 1915, is designed to give alumni a glimpse of campus life when the University is in session. At the Alumni Day luncheon, several awards are presented to alumni in recognition of their achievements and volunteer service.

The following awards were presented during the Alumni Day luncheon on February 21, 2009.

Woodrow Wilson Award

This prize was established by an anonymous donor in 1956 during the centennial year of Woodrow Wilson's birth. It has since been conferred annually upon an alumnus or alumna of the undergraduate college whose achievements exemplify Woodrow Wilson's memorable phrase "Princeton in the nation's service."

A winner is chosen annually by a selection committee composed of the chair of the Alumni Council, the president of the national Wilson Foundation and the dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

2009 Award Recipient:  Rajiv Vinnakota '93

Previous Award Recipients [PDF]

The James Madison Medal

Named for James Madison, Princeton's first graduate alumnus, the Madison Medal was established in 1973 by the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA). Upon the recommendation of the APGA Committee on Nominations and Awards and the Madison Meal Selection Committee, this honor is conferred each year on an alumnus or alumna of the Graduate School who has had a distinguished career, advanced the cause of graduate education or achieved a record of outstanding public service.

2009 Award Recipient:  Claire Max *72 (Astrophysical Sciences)

Previous Award Recipients [PDF]

Princeton Schools Committee S. Barksdale Penick, Jr. '25 Award

Presented for the first time in 1987 by the Alumni Council Princeton Schools committee (formerly the National Committee on Schools), this award recognizes the regional Alumni Schools Committee (ASC) whose activities, enthusiasm and imagination have most effectively realized the primary goals of Schools Committee work: to recruit outstanding candidates for Princeton, to report skillfully on these candidates to the Admissions office and to represent Princeton to its local community.

2009 Award Recipients: 

• Princeton Alumni Association of Idaho and Montana
  ASC Co-Chairs Anne and Lawrence Martinez '84
• Princeton Association of New York City, Brooklyn Region
  ASC Chair P. Noriko Gallagher '92
• Princeton Club of Tulsa
  ASC Chair George Schnetzer '60

Previous Award Recipients [PDF]

Annual Giving Awards

Each year on Alumni Day, Annual Giving presents several service awards to hardworking Annual Giving volunteers.  These awards include:

• The Harold H. Helm Award
  
  This prize, first given in 1978, was named in honor of the Harold H. Helm '20 chairman of Annual Giving's first campaign in 1940. Mr. Helm, an ardent champion of Annual Giving, was also chairman of the Alumni Council and a charter trustee of Princeton. The Helm Award recognizes "exemplary and sustained service to Annual Giving."
  
• The Class of 1926 Trophy
  
  Established by one of Annual Giving's legendary classes and first awarded in 1978, the trophy goes to the class that raises the largest amount in each year's campaign.
  
• The Jerry Horton Award
  
  Given for the first time in 1982, the award was named in honor of Arthur J. Horton '42, a former director of Annual Giving, director of development and recording secretary of the University. The award is presented to a regional Annual giving committee in recognition of its successful efforts to expand dollar and participation totals.

Learn more about the 2009 AG Award Recipients