Claremont Graduate University’s Office of Alumni Engagement honors the university’s most extraordinary alumni with two prestigious annual awards.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is bestowed upon CGU graduates who have made extraordinary contributions in their academic or professional fields.
The Distinguished Alumni Service Award honors CGU alumni who have achieved recognition for their philanthropic or volunteer service to the university and to society.
Nominations for the alumni awards are accepted year-round, and are reviewed in the fall, with recipients being announced in the spring. Each year, prior to commencement, the award recipients are invited to an awards ceremony at the President’s house.
2021
Juanita Dawson, MS, Information Science, 2005
Inés Familiar-Miller, MA, Arts Management, 2016
Walter D. Johnson, EMBA, 2010, MPH, Community and Global Health, 2012
Aragna Ker, MFA, 2004
Angela Manalo Lalas, EMBA, 2013
Daniel Pick, MS, Mathematics, 1995
Daniel Solórzano, MA, Education, 1984, PhD, Education, 1986
Michael M. Uhlmann, PhD, Government, 1978
2020
No awardees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
Deborah R. Castleman, MA, Politics and Policy, 1990
Frances Marie Gipson, PhD, Education, 2012
Bree Hemingway, MPH, Community & Global Health, 2011
Haisheng Luo, PhD, Mathematics, 1995
Charles A. Morrissey, PhD, Executive Management, 1997
Jonathan Reed, PhD, Religion, 1994
Barbara Usher, PhD, Information Science, 2010
2018
Jeanne Holm, MS, Information Systems Management, 2001
2017
Jack Cuzick, PhD, Mathematics, 1974
2015
Mukesh Aghi, PhD, International Relations, 1985
2014
Eric Ball, PhD, Management, 2007
2013
Daryl G. Smith, MA, Psychology, 1974; PhD, Psychology and Education, 1976
2012
Armen Orujyan, MA, Politics and Policy, 2004; PhD, Politics and Policy, 2007
2011
Sister Kathleen A. Ross, PhD, Education, 1979
Catherine E. Keller, PhD, Religion, 1984
2010
Edward R. Baker, MFA, 1967
2009
Gail L. Thompson, MA, Education, 1987; PhD, Education, 1998
2008
Earl H. Maize, MA, Mathematics, 1977; PhD, Mathematics, 1981
2007
Rajiv Dutta, MBA, 1982
Congresswoman Diane E. Watson, PhD, Education, 1987
Congressman David Dreier, MA, Government, 1977
2006
Alfred Balitzer, PhD, Government, 1972
2005
Paul K. Longmore, PhD, History, 1984
2004
Jacqueline Powers Doud, PhD, Education, 1976
2003
James A. Turrell, MA, Art, 1973
2002
Marilyn P. Sutton, MA, English, 1969, PhD, English, 1973
2001
Charles C. Emery, Jr., MA, Executive Management, 1990, PhD, Executive Management, 1994
2000
Ashleigh Brilliant, MA, Education, 1958
Jack A. Scott, MA, History, 1967, PhD, History, 1970
1999
Melodie Irene Mayberry-Stewart, MA, Executive Management, 1989, PhD, Executive Management, 1997
1998
Stephen Rountree, MA, Executive Management, 1977
1997
Gloria Jean Willingham, PhD, Education, 1996
Judy Rosener, PhD, Government, 1979
1996
Joyce O. Appleby, PhD, History, 1966
Martin Glassner, PhD, International Relations, 1968
1995
Sacvan Bercovitch, MA, English, 1963, PhD, English, 1965
1994
William N. Dunn, MA, Government, 1966, PhD, International Relations, 1969
1993
Richard Moore, PhD, Economics, 1965
1992
Charles Navarro, PhD, Government, 1982
Thomas Curry, PhD, History, 1983
1991
Yvette Del Prado, MA, Education, 1976, PhD, Education, 1986
1989
Stephen T. Davis, PhD, Philosophy, 1970
1988
Ron Lehman, MA, Government, 1969, PhD, Government, 1975
1987
Karl Benjamin, MA, Art, 1960
McCoy Vernon, PhD, Education and Psychology, 1966
1986
Thomas Gillespie, PhD, Religion, 1971
1985
Frank Farner, MA, Education, 1957, PhD, Education, 1960
1984
Daniel Lewis, MA, Music, 1951
1983
Suzanne E. Muchnic, MFA, 1963
Glen Davidson, PhD, Religion, 1964
1982
Enid H. Douglass, MA, Government, 1959
1981
John D. Seelye, MA, English, 1956, PhD, English, 1961
Sandra Glass, PhD, English, 1970
1980
Margaret Preska, PhD, Education, 1969
Joseph Forcinelli, MA, Education, 1955, PhD, Religion, 1965
Natividad Barranda, PhD, Religion, Asian Studies, 1969
1979
William Van Cleave, PhD, Government, 1967
Rosemary Ruether, MA Religion, 1960, PhD, Religion, 1965
Teresa Hughes, PhD, Education, 1973
Marguerite Brydegaard, MA, Education, 1937, PhD, Education, 1959
1978
Wiley Mather, MA, Political Science, 1928
T. Stanley Warburton, MA, Education, 1933
Margaret Regnery, MA, Education, 1943
1975
Ruth S. Lamb, MA, Modern European Languages, 1937
2021
Robyn Iraheta, MA, Teacher Education, 2012
2020
No awardees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
Mustafa Mirza, MA, School of Social Science, Policy, & Evaluation, 1979; MBA, Drucker School of Management, 1980
2018
Felton Williams, PhD, Education, 1985
Ralph Miller, PhD, Psychology, 1979
2017
Gloria Willingham-Touré, PhD, Higher Education Administration, 1996
2016
Jennifer Bergstrom, EMBA, 1993
2015
Thomas Y. Hsieh, EMBA, 2004
2014
Marilyn P. Sutton, MA, English, 1969; PhD, English, 1973
2013
Dorothy Heide, PhD, Business Administration, 1977
2012
Douglas Christopher Stahl, MS, Information Systems, 1997; PhD, Information Systems, 2000; EMBA, 2006
2011
Sonya Woods Anderson, EMBA 1983; PhD, Executive Management, 1987
2010
Sharon Wiley Hightower, MA, Government, 1966
James Kay Hightower, MA, Economics, 1967; PhD, Economics, 1970
2009
Major General William A. Cohen, MA, Executive Management, 1978; PhD, Executive Management, 1979
2008
Deepak Shimkhada, PhD, Education, 2001
2007
Ernest Maldonado, PhD, Criminal Justice, 1983
2006
Subramanyam Murthy, PhD, Information Science, 1995
2005
César A. Piña, MS, Mathematics, 1987
Mary Toepelt Nicolai, 1970
2004
Synthia Laura Molina, MBA, 1989
Michael M. Hertel, MA, Government, 1970; PhD, Government, 1972
2003
George M. Brinton, PhD, Economics, 1963
Priscilla Fernandez, MA, English, 1978
2002
Robert Swette, Advanced Executive Master of Business Administration, Executive Management, 1987
Donald L. Phillips, Certificate, Executive Management, 1973
2000
Patricia Arkin, MA, English, 1963, PhD, Education, 1978
1999
Sally Whiting Miller, MA, Psychology, 1962, PhD, Psychology, 1970
1998
Jonathan Nwomonoh, PhD, Government, 1979
1997
Sally Olsen Thomas, Certificate, Education, 1981, PhD, Education, 1994
1996
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, PhD, Government, 1980
1995
Beverly Miklich, PhD, Education, 1984
1994
F. Haynes Lindley, Jr., MFA, 1972
1993
Jacqueline Powers Doud, PhD, Education, 1976
Teresa Hughes, PhD, Education, 1973
1992
Robert Swette, Advanced Executive Master of Business Administration, Executive Management, 1987
1991
Terry Saario, PhD, Education, 1970
1990
Joe Forcinelli, MA, Education, 1955, PhD, Religion, 1965
1989
Mary J. Martz, MA, Religion, 1975, PhD, Education, 1980
1987
Tae Han Kim, PhD, Education, 1975
Kathleen Ross, PhD Education, 1979
1986
Edmond Haddad, PhD, Education, 1982
1984
Gerald Bush, MA, Government, 1959
1983
Douglas B. Pearce, PhD, Education, 1955
Mary Montes, PhD, Education, 1975
1982
Carlos Teran, MA, Government, 1966
1980
J. Michael Fay, PhD, Education, 1974
1978
Harold Gault, MA, Business Economics, 1968, PhD, Economics, 1975
1976
Jerry Voorhis, MA, Education, 1928
Lorraine Tilden, MA, Modern European Languages, 1954
1975
Byron M. Taylor, MA, Education, 1934