Alumni Recognition

We honor our outstanding alumni

We are proud to recognize our O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs graduates who have distinguished themselves in their careers and who serve as accomplished role models for today’s O’Neill students and the greater community.

Our 2025 Alumni Award honorees

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Early Impact Award

Rishard Allen, BSAM’17

Rishard Allen is an emerging philanthropic professional, creative consultant, and curator whose leadership practice is deeply focused on promoting, protecting, and preserving culture—particularly culture at risk of erasure, censure, and appropriation. He currently serves as the grants and community manager at the Pop Culture Collaborative, where he spearheads an innovative grantmaking strategy that harnesses the influential power of popular culture to reshape narratives about marginalized communities and work toward a more just and pluralist future. Rishard holds a B.S. in Arts Management from the O’Neill School and an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

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Distinguished Alumni Award

Terry Babcock-Lumish, MPA’99

Terry Babcock-Lumish is the sixth—and first female—executive secretary of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Before leading Truman, she founded and led Islay for 15 years, providing strategic guidance for philanthropic foundations and other mission-driven organizations across six continents. Over the last 30 years, Dr. Babcock-Lumish has served in local, state, and federal government for both Democratic and Republican administrations, and as a researcher for two books by former Vice President Al Gore. From 1999 to 2001, she was a Presidential Management Fellow at the Treasury Department and in the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. She completed her B.S. at Carnegie Mellon University, MPA as a Lilly Fellow at the O’Neill School, and D.Phil. at the University of Oxford.

Distinguished Undergraduate Alumni Award

Scott Dolson, BSPA'88

Scott Dolson is in his sixth year as IU’s Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. He spent the previous 11 years as the department’s deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer. Dolson has been involved in a leadership role on the Big Ten and NCAA levels. He recently completed a two-year stint as the chairperson of the Big Ten Athletic Directors Group, and he was also named to the NCAA Division I Baseball Selection Committee in January 2024. The Michigan City, Indiana, native graduated from IU with a bachelor's degree in management from the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Dolson and his wife, Heidi, have five children: Luke, Sam and Zach Wisen, and Kristen and Nick Dolson.

Nominate an alum

Undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral alumni are eligible for this award—the most honorable alumni distinction bestowed by the O’Neill School. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis. Award winners are annually selected in early spring.

Submit a nomination