Joan Shaw Herman Award

The Joan Shaw Herman Award for Distinguished Service

Award recipients have exemplified the qualities of generosity and selflessness and the capacity to labor untiringly on behalf of others. These outstanding community members have shared their visions of a better world. They challenge us to challenge ourselves.

The Joan Shaw Herman Award, the only award given in the Concord Academy community, is presented annually to a member of the Concord Academy community whose life exemplifies a fundamental orientation our school cultivates: service to others.

The Joan Shaw Herman Award

Since it was established in 1976, CA’s only award has offered our community opportunities to affirm the value of working toward a better world and draw inspiration from individuals making a difference, in honor of Joan Shaw Herman ’46, who was paralyzed from the neck down after contracting polio the summer after her graduation. Although she was confined to an iron lung for much of the remainder of her life, she worked constantly for the improvement of the lives of disabled persons. Herman’s devotion to others exemplifies a common value instilled in the CA experience—a lifelong commitment to service.

Each year, the Concord Academy Alum Association presents the Joan Shaw Herman Award to a member of the CA community who has demonstrated dedication to service in either a professional or volunteer capacity. Nominees may be of any age and may be recognized posthumously. While Concord Academy is fortunate to be supported by many wonderful volunteers, this award is not for service to Concord Academy but to the world at large.

Nominations

We invite you to nominate peers to be future Joan Shaw Herman Award recipients. Your nominations are both inspiring and humbling. It is a testament to the values of the CA community that we choose to give our only award in recognition of service. We look forward to hearing the stories of and tributes to your extraordinary classmates. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful submission.

About Herman’s “Christmastide” Painting

“Christmastide” was painted by Joan Shaw Herman ’46 and copied from a color photo taken by Elizabeth Wheeler. It was painted with a brush held in her teeth and was begun March 1959 and finished October 1960.

Past Award Recipients

Our impressive field of past honorees have made their mark through work in medicine, the arts, social justice, environmentalism, education, science, and more.

2024

Richard Read ’75

2023

Chris Rosenberg ’86

2022

Adnan Zubcevic ’75

2021

Leslie Davidson ’66

Ingrid Walker-Descartes ’91

2020

Anne Pfitzer ’85

2019

Kate Morse Erwin ’69

2018

Catherine Saalfield Gund ’83

2017

Lyn Burr Brignoli ’62

2016

Sandra Willett Jackson ’61

2015

Sharmin Eshraghi Bock ’80

2014

Robin Alden ’69

2013

Tom Lincoln ’78

2012

Ellen Smith Harde ’62

Jennifer Moulton ’67 (posthumously)

2011

Nancy Jaicks Alexander ’51

2010

Paul Santomenna ’85

2009

Nancy Read Coville ’49

2008

Anne Gaud Tinker ’63

2007

Katharine Muller Bullit ’42

Phyllis Rothschild Farley ’42

2006

Victoria Post Ranney ’56

2005

Nellie Davidson ’55 and Anne Wilson ’75

2004

Bronwen Jenney Anders ’59

2003

Angela Middleton Wilkins ’48

2002

Jody Heymann ’77

2001

Corrine Benson Johnson ’46

2000

Deborah Ham ’55

1999

Lisa Halaby ’69 (HM Queen Noor)

1998

Adelaide Eicks Comegys ’48

1997

Marten Poole ’58

1996

Sarah Foss ’41

1995

Wendy Arnold ’65

1994

Betsy Atwood Nelson ’55

1988

Ann McKinstry Micou ’48

1985

Rosemary Baldwin Coffin ’40

1984

Helen Whiting Livingston ’41

1982

Doreen Young, past faculty (posthumously)

1980

Cynthia Creelman Hill ’50

1979

Ruth Brooks Drinker ’31

1978

Elizabeth Monroe Boggs ’31

Margaret Lincoln Marshall ’31

1977

Joan Shaw Herman ’46 (posthumously)