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.
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.
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.
“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.
Our impressive field of past honorees have made their mark through work in medicine, the arts, social justice, environmentalism, education, science, and more.
Joan Shaw Herman ’46 (posthumously)
Elizabeth Monroe Boggs ’31
Margaret Lincoln Marshall ’31
Ruth Brooks Drinker ’31
Cynthia Creelman Hill ’50
Doreen Young, former faculty (posthumously)
Helen Whiting Livingston ’41
Rosemary Baldwin Coffin ’40
Ann McKinstry Micou ’48
Betsy Atwood Nelson ’55
Wendy Arnold ’65
Sarah Foss ’41
Marten Poole ’58
Adelaide Eicks Comegys ’48
Lisa Halaby ’69 (HM Queen Noor)
Deborah Ham ’55
Corrine Benson Johnson ’46
Jody Heymann ’77
Angela Middleton Wilkins ’48
Bronwen Jenney Anders ’59
Nellie Davidson ’55
Anne Wilson ’75
Victoria Post Ranney ’56
Katharine Muller Bullit ’42
Phyllis Rothschild Farley ’42
Anne Gaud Tinker ’63
Nancy Read Coville ’49
Paul Santomenna ’85
Nancy Jaicks Alexander ’51
Ellen Smith Harde ’62
Jennifer Moulton ’61 (posthumously)
Tom Lincoln ’78
Robin Alden ’69
Sharmin Eshraghi Bock ’80
Sandra Willett Jackson ’61
Lyn Burr Brignoli ’62
Catherine Saalfield Gund ’83
Kate Morse Erwin ’69
Anne Pfitzer ’85
Leslie Davidson ’66
Ingrid Walker-Descartes ’91
Adnan Zubcevic ’75
Chris Rosenberg ’86
Richard Read ’75
Leslie Taylor Davol ’87 and Sam Davol ’88