Know an outstanding Auburn alumni? Nominate them for the Lifetime Achievement Award!

There are countless graduates of Auburn University; so many of them have gone on to do incredible things, shouldn’t they be recognized for their achievements? Auburn and the Student Alumni Association (SAA) agree! The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes recipients for outstanding achievements in their professional lives, personal integrity and stature, and service to the university. According to the SAA website, the award was established in 2001 to honor extraordinary accomplishments by members of the Auburn family. Recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards are selected by a committee of Auburn administrators, trustees, faculty and alumni.

The 2010 Lifetime Achievement Awards will be held on March 6, 2010 at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center. The announcement of recipients was made in November of 2009 and the 2010 recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards are: founder and leader of the international containerized ocean shipping industry, Robert Kenneth Johns '57 of Summit, NJ; insurance mogul J. Smith Lanier II '49 of Lanett, Ala.; space shuttle rocket motor designer Gerald W. Smith '61 of Huntsville, Ala.; and retired astronaut Kathryn C. Thornton '74 of Charlottesville, Va.

“The Lifetime Achievement Awards is a night to celebrate everything these great alumni have done in their careers,” Tanja Matthews, Alumni Programs Coordinator, says. It is a black-tie event that influential members of the Auburn University community attend as well as the award recipients and their friends and family.

“The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest award the alumni association gives out,” Matthews says. Some of the past recipients of the award are: Dr. Ralph Brown Draughon, Dean James Edgar Foy, Dean Katharine Cooper Cater, Coach James Ralph “Shug” Jordan, and Dean George Petrie.

Anyone is welcome to nominate an Auburn alumni for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Starting March 8, 2010 nominations for the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award will be accepted. You can call or email Tanja Matthews with your nominations: 334-844-1113 | tanjamatthews@auburn.edu