Brown Bear Award

The Brown Alumni Association’s highest volunteer award honors many years of outstanding and wide-ranging personal service rendered to the University.

Breadcrumb

In 1946 the Brown Alumni Association adopted a recommendation from the Brown Club of New York that a Brown Bear Award be given by the association to recognize “outstanding and wide-ranging personal service rendered the University over a period of years.” Each year, an anonymous committee reviews nominations from alumni and staff and selects one to three recipients. Winners of the Brown Bear Award have usually distinguished themselves as volunteers for Brown in more than one area over a period of many years.

2024 Recipients

Judith Sanford-Harris ’74, P’14

Photo of Judith Sanford-HarrisJudith Sanford-Harris ’74, P’14, affectionately known as “Bits,” is honored with the Brown Bear Award for her lifetime of exceptional volunteer service to Brown. With over 35 years as an alumni interviewer, Sanford-Harris has fostered deep connections within the Brown community. She has held numerous leadership roles, including serving on the Brown Alumni Association Board of Governors, as national secretary of the Inman Page Black Alumni Council (IPC), and as founding co-chair of the 2009 IPC Black Matriculation Campaign. Sanford-Harris also played a pivotal role in outreach to newly admitted Indigenous students and supported various committees promoting multicultural engagement and alumni involvement. A proud member of the Class of 1974, her dedication to advancing diversity and inclusion at Brown is unmatched.

Steve Shin ’95 MMSc’97 MD’99

Photo of Steve Shin with a dog.Steve Shin ’95 MMSc’97 MD’99 is a deserving recipient of the Brown Bear Award for his unwavering dedication to Brown and The Warren Alpert Medical School. Over the years, Shin has demonstrated extraordinary leadership within the Brown Medical Alumni Association (BMAA), serving in various capacities on its executive committee, including president from 2022 to 2024, and co-chairing the Brown Medical Annual Fund (BMAF). His efforts were instrumental in growing the BMAF and establishing the BMAA Term Scholarship, which provides vital financial aid to medical students. He has also mentored students, served as a Medical Reunion Class Volunteer, and collaborated with key deans on strategic initiatives. His work in fundraising and alumni engagement has significantly advanced the Medical School’s mission and impact.

 

Previous Recipients

  • José J. Estabil ’84 ScM’88
  • Resa E. Lewiss, M.D. ’92
  • Genine Fidler ’77, P’04, P’12
  • Preston Tisdale ’73, P’10, P’10 MPH’16 MD’16, P’12
  • Walter Adler 1918 AM'18, P'58 MAT'65
  • Vernon R. Alden '45 LLD'64 hon., P'78, P'81, P'87
  • H. Cushman Anthony 1926
  • Thomas B. Appleget 1917 LLD'67 hon., P'49
  • Ralph A. Armstrong 1917, P'50
  • Everett M. Arnold 1921
  • Harold Bailey, Jr. ’70 LHD'95 hon., P'99, P'03
  • Bernicestine McLeod Bailey ’68, P’99, P’03
  • Richard C. Barker '57 LHD'09 hon., P'03, P'05
  • Andrea Terzi Baum ’83, P’15, P’18, P'21
  • Charles Beattie 1923, P'57, P'57, P'64
  • Bernard E. Bell ’42, P’71, P’72, P’78
  • Bruce M. Bigelow 1924
  • Lynda Ivey Bigler ’74, P'04
  • George H. Billings ’72 LHD'21 hon.
  • Nathaniel Blaisdell 1883
  • Sophie Schaffer Blistein ’41
  • Frederick Bloom ’40, P'71
  • Lyman G. Bloomingdale ’35 LHD'95 hon.
  • Edward T. Brackett 1914, P'50
  • C. Arthur Braitsch 1923
  • Devra Miller Breslow '54
  • Sheryl D. Brissett-Chapman ’71 LHD'19 hon.
  • Frederick C. Broomhead 1905
  • F. Abbott Brown 1926, P'55, P'57
  • R. Harper Brown ’45
  • William W. Browne 1908
  • Nancy L. Buc ’65 LLD'94 hon.
  • Susan A. Buffum ’74
  • James J. Burke ’73, P’05, P’06, P’10
  • Bernard V. Buonanno, Jr. ’60, P'88, P'92, P'96
  • Vincent J. Buonanno ’66, P'95
  • William P. Burnham 1907
  • Katherine Burton ’79, DFA’07 hon., P’11
  • Harry H. Burton 1916
  • G. Edward Buxton 1902
  • Garrett D. Byrnes 1926
  • Gordon E. Cadwgan ’36
  • Donald Campbell ’45
  • Richard F. Carolan ’58
  • Ruth Wade Cerjanec ’33
  • Elizabeth Z. Chace ’59 PHB’96 hon.
  • Henry S. Chafee 1909
  • J. Richard Chambers ’69
  • George C. Channing 1911
  • Judith Korey Charles ’46
  • Nathaniel B. Chase 1923
  • Margaret E. Cheetham 1923
  • Joseph E. Cook 1914
  • Spencer R. Crew ’71, P’00, P’04
  • Robert V. Cronan ’31
  • Ralph R. Crosby 1926, P'52
  • Moses L. Crossley 1909
  • Shirley Burr Darling ’44
  • Foster B. Davis, Jr. ’39
  • Alexander A. DiMartino ’29
  • Neil B. Donavan ’51
  • Joseph L. Dowling, Jr. ’47
  • William A. Dyer, Jr. 1924 LLD'84 hon., P'63
  • James Eastham 1919
  • Rebekah Hill Eckstein ’60, P'90
  • Knight Edwards ’45, P'76
  • Ruth Burt Ekstrom ’53 LLD'88 hon.
  • Stephen R. Ehrlich ’55, P'85
  • Joyce Wetherald Fairchild ’47
  • J. Richmond Fales 1910
  • Louis Farber ’29
  • Christine Dunlap Farnham ’48
  • William E. Fay, Jr. ’38
  • Jay W. Fidler ’43, P'68, P'72, P'77
  • Shelley Nan Fidler ’68, P’09
  • Robert P. Fisler ’43
  • Cyrus G. Flanders 1918, P'49, P'50, P'50
  • John E. Flemming ’33
  • John S. Foley 1925
  • Joseph Freedman 1926
  • Karl C. Gardner 1913
  • Nancy Gidwitz ’70
  • William J. Gilbane ’33 AM'58, P'70
  • Robert H. Goff 1924, P'57
  • Harold S. Gold ’51, P'81, P'82, P'86
  • Stuart S. Golding ’39, P'68, P'69
  • Alexander Graham 1906
  • William A. Graham 1916
  • Jeffrey S. Granger 1913
  • Alfred H. Gurney 1907
  • Earl W. Harrington, Jr. ’41
  • Henry C. Hart 1901
  • Penelope Hartland-Thunberg ’40 LLD'66 hon.
  • Claire J. Henderson ’61
  • Galen V. Henderson MD’93
  • Lacy B. Herrman ’50
  • Elie Hirschfeld ’71, P’06, P’16, P’20
  • Kenneth L. Holmes ’51
  • Elmer S. Horton 1916
  • H. Anthony Ittleson ’60 LHD'98 hon., P'89, P'90
  • Dorsey M. James ’83, P’15
  • James Jemail 1918
  • Harold W. Jordan II ’85
  • Alfred H. Joslin ’35
  • Artemis A. W. Joukowsky ’55 LLD'85 hon., P'87
  • Martha Sharp Joukowsky ’58 PhB'82 hon. LHD'85 hon., P'87
  • Susan Adler Kaplan ’58 MAT’65
  • Peige Katz ’91, P'24
  • Barnaby C. Keeney ADE’49 hon. LLD’67 hon.
  • Pardon R. Kenney ’72 MMSc'75 MD'75 RES'80, P'03
  • Robert W. Kenny 1925 AM'26 PhD'34 LHD'75 hon., P'55
  • Elizabeth Goodale Kenyon ’39
  • Otto Kerner ’30
  • Ronald M. Kimball 1918
  • Robert I. Kramer ’54
  • Fraser M. Lang ’67
  • Marie J. Langlois ’64
  • Javette P. Laremont ’80
  • John E. Liebmann ’41
  • Gerald R. Levine ’58
  • Joseph F. Lockett, Jr. ’42
  • Irving G. Loxley ’27
  • David G. Lubrano ’52
  • E. Robert Lupone ’81
  • William B. McCormick 1923
  • Elizabeth J. MacDonald ’30
  • W. Kilgore Macfarlane, Jr. 1923
  • Paul F. Mackesey ’32
  • W. Duncan MacMillan ’53 LLD'93 hon.
  • Paul L. Maddock ’33
  • Joseph H. Mahood, Jr. ’31
  • Wiley H. Marble 1912
  • Stanley F. Mathes ’39
  • Gail E. McCann ’75
  • Kenneth H. McDaniel ’69, P’13
  • Alfred B. Meacham 1896
  • Teresa Gagnon Mellone ’39
  • C. Douglas Mercer 1906
  • Bernice Cohan Meyer ’46, P’76
  • Ellen Shaffer Meyer ’61, P’94
  • Margaret Conant Michael ’51
  • Rita Michaelson ’50
  • Jean E. Miller ’49
  • Anne Jones Mills ’60
  • Lewis S. Milner 1902
  • John J. Monk 1924
  • John H. Morrissey 1910
  • Carlton D. Morse 1913
  • Norma Caslowitz Munves ’54
  • Edwin M. Murphy 1919
  • Nancy F. Neff ’76, P’06, P’14
  • Dorothy Markoff Nelson ’35
  • Chapin S. Newhard 1922
  • Carolyn Cardall Newsom ’62
  • Diane Lake Northrop ’54, P’81
  • Richard A. Nurse ’61, P’88
  • Dennis O’Brien 1898
  • Eugene W. O’Brien 1919
  • Ralph M. Palmer 1910
  • Norman Pierce ’33
  • Louis A. R. Pieri 1920
  • Gavin A. Pitt ’38
  • William A. Pollard ’50, P'77, P'81, P'85
  • Emery M. Porter 1906
  • Robert A. Reichley ADE'69 hon., P'77
  • Joseph W. Ress 1926
  • Quentin J. Reynolds 1924
  • John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 1897
  • Carmen M. Rodriguez '83, P'14 MD'21, P'17
  • Hannelore B. Rodriguez-Farrar '87 AM'90 PhD'09
  • John J. Roe, Jr. ’27
  • Harold G. Rogers ’27
  • William D. Rogers ’52, P’80, P’87
  • Frederick H. Rohlfs 1926
  • Benjamin D. Roman 1925
  • Ralph F. Rosenberg ’86, P’17
  • Eileen M. Rudden ’72, P’03, P’07, P’11
  • Richard B. Salomon ’32, LLD’72 hon.
  • Cayetano Sanchez III ’80
  • Robert P. Sanchez ’58, P’89
  • Edwin J. Schermerhorn ’34
  • Henry D. Sharpe ’94
  • Henry D. Sharpe, Jr. ’45
  • Helena Hogan Shea ’30
  • Harold S. Shefelman 1920
  • Roger B. Simon ’61
  • H. Stanton Smith 1921
  • Joan Wernig Sorensen '72 LHD'19 hon., P'06 P'06
  • Anita V. Spivey ’74, P’09
  • W. Earl Sprackling 1912
  • Doris Hopkins Stapelton ’28
  • Wendy J. Strothman ’72 LHD'08 hon., P'07
  • Edward Sulzberger ’29
  • Vera Matteson Sundquist ’29
  • F. Hartwell Swaffield ’37
  • Richmond H. Sweet 1925, P'76
  • Eugene C. Swift ’42, P’67, P’69
  • Martin L. Tarpy ’37
  • Joseph L. Tauro ’53 LLD’98 hon., P’84
  • Charles C. Tillinghast, Jr. ’32 LLD’67 hon., P’61, P’67
  • Phyllis Van Horn Tillinghast ’51
  • Clayton C. Timbrell ’42
  • Richard J. Tracy ’46
  • Darcy A. Travlos ’84, P’20
  • William H. Twaddell ’63
  • Sanford W. Udis ’41
  • Mary E. Vascellaro '74, P'07
  • Richard L. Walsh ’37
  • Thomas J. Watson, Jr. ’37 LLD'57 hon.
  • Alva O. Way ’51
  • Edward H. Weeks ’93
  • Charles Weisbecker III ’41
  • Elizabeth B. West ’73, P’17
  • Scott D. Westerfield ’79
  • Dorothy Williams Wells ’52
  • James L. Whitcomb ’36
  • Augustus A. White III '57 DMS'97 hon., P'98
  • Clinton C. White 1900
  • Sydney Wilmot 1909
  • Ruth Harris Wolf ’41
  • W. Chesley Worthington 1923
  • Henry M. Wriston ADE'43 hon.
  • Phyllis Baldwin Young ’45, P’87
  • Dudley A. Zinke ’39