DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI Three honorees announced for award presented annually since 1957

Three people have been selected for ISU’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Presented annually since 1957, the Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni who have made significant achievements professionally and within their communities, locally and globally. The honorees will receive their awards at the President’s Dinner.

Dr. George Washington Buckner

Posthumous Honoree

Buckner became the first Black diplomat to a foreign country in 1913 when President Woodrow Wilson appointed him U.S. Minister and Consul General to Liberia.

Buckner was born a slave in Kentucky in 1855. He attended school in Indianapolis and graduated from the Indiana State Normal School, now Indiana State University, in 1871. While teaching in Vincennes, he went to Indiana Eclectic Medical College and graduated in 1890. He practiced medicine in Evansville and founded the Cherry Street YMCA.

Buckner’s time as a diplomat lasted less than two years because of health problems. He returned to Evansville and practiced medicine and became a civil rights activist. Buckner died in 1943 at age 87.

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John Thompson

CEO, Thompson Thrift Construction

As Chief Executive Officer of Thompson Thrift Construction, Thompson is responsible for the overall direction of the company, including preconstruction, construction services, and field operations.

He founded Thompson Thrift with partner Paul Thrift in 1986. Since then, Thompson and Thrift have expanded the business into a highly regarded full-service real estate development and construction company.

His key positions or activities: Boy Scouts of America, Past Board Member; Terre Haute Children’s Museum, Past Chair; National Association of Home Builders Construction Council Executive, Past Board Member; National Multifamily Housing Council Design and Construction Board Member.

Paul Thrift

CEO, Thompson Thrift Development

As CEO of Thompson Thrift Development, Thrift oversees the company’s asset portfolio and new market opportunities. He founded Thompson Thrift with partner John Thompson in 1986. Under their leadership, the business has grown into the nationally recognized fullservice real estate development and construction company it is today.

During his tenure as CEO, Thrift successfully guided Thompson Thrift Development through the competitive real estate marketplace while expanding its portfolio to include multifamily, industrial, and commercial mixed-use developments across the country.

His key positions or activities: Indiana State Chamber, Past Chair and Executive Committee Member; Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, Past Chair; Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation, Past Chair; Indiana State University Foundation, Past Chair Athletic Advancement Committee; Wabash Valley Red Cross, Past Chair; World Gospel Church, Terre Haute, Deacon Council Past Chair; Indiana State University School of Business Dean’s Council; Terre Haute Tomorrow & Terre Haute Competes, Steering Committee Chair; MultiFamily Leadership Board, National Association of Home Builders Current Chair; National Multifamily Housing Council, Executive Board Member.

Sources for George Washington Buckner’s profile were “The Life of Dr. George Washington Buckner,” the U.S. Office of the Historian, and findagrave.com. Buckner’s photo was used with permission from the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science.

The impact of donor giving at Indiana State University is helping establish and advance University programs and initiatives. The philanthropic passions of our donors are improving the lives of our students through scholarships, hands-on learning, program and facility development, and much more.

Mike and Amy Alley of Carmel committed $100,000 in support of various programs including the Linda Eldred Student Success Center, the Alley Professional Development Fellows Endowment, the Porter Cancer Research Center, and Sycamore Athletics.

GEODIS Logistics of Plainfield committed $150,000 to support experiential learning projects and to provide scholarships for the Operations and Supply Chain Management program through the creation of the ISU/ GEODIS Logistics 4.0 Innovation Hub. Jack and Joyce Rentschler of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, donated $300,000 on Give to Blue Day to provide programmatic support for multiple Sycamore Athletic teams and for the Bayh College of Education.

Kathleen Sauer of Plainfield gave $100,000 in memory of her husband, long-time ISU English professor and retired Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Thomas Sauer, to support students and travel abroad experiences through the Dr. Thomas G. Sauer and Kathleen P. Sauer College of Arts and Sciences “Bridge the

Gap” Scholarship and the Thomas G. Sauer Scholarship Fund for Travel Abroad.

Marjorie Z. Ashby of Zionsville donated $354,000 through her testamentary trust to the Marjorie Z. Ashby College of Health and Human Services Endowment Fund to support nursing, health, and nutrition programs in the College.

Yanya Yang and Neng Chiang Yang, siblings from Lexington, Kentucky, and Portland, Oregon, respectively, donated $250,000 to the Art Department at ISU to name the Yang Family University Art Gallery. Their gift will provide support for scholarships and professional development, as well as funding for exhibitions, programming, and infrastructure enhancements.

Scott Watson of Chicago committed $125,000 to establish the South Vermillion High School Class of ’81 Endowed Scholarship.

Susan Abernathy of Ridgefield, New Jersey, gave $250,000 through the estate of her late husband, Dr. Lucky J. Abernathy, to support students pursuing a graduate degree in the Bayh College of Education through the Dr. Lucky Abernathy Endowed Scholarship.

Karen and John Lukens of Terre Haute made a $100,000 commitment through their estate to support the Forrest Sherer Insurance and Risk Management Scholarship.

Kim and Steve Smith of Naples, Florida, committed $250,000 to establish the Kim and Steve Smith Faculty Fellow in Insurance and Risk Management Endowment, and in support of Sycamore Athletics.

John and Marilyn Thyen of Naples, Florida, committed $150,000 to the Indiana State Football Program, to provide support for various programmatic needs and enhancements.

Dr. David Mitchell and Geraldine Penman

Mitchell of Terre Haute donated $645,000 through their bequests to support ISU students by establishing the Geraldine Penman and David C. Mitchell Scholarship.

Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics of Indianapolis provided a gift-in-kind of $224,000 through physician services and medical support for Sycamore Athletics.

Rich and Robin Porter of Okatie, South Carolina, made a $1,150,000 commitment to enhance their support of the Porter Cancer Research Center, as well as to establish the Porter Master’s in Nursing Endowed Scholarship, and to provide support for the Sycamore Track & Field program.

*Donor gifts are reflective of giving from March 2022 through July 2022.

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