Volunteers have supported students and scholars as part of the Harvard College Fund and Graduate School Fund for nearly a century. On October 28, four awards were presented to honor some of the best and brightest efforts.
The Roger Flather '54 Award honors emerging reunion leaders in pre-25th classes who have inspired peers to initiate annual giving traditions. This year's recognition went to Jeffrey Homer, co-chair of the Class of 2013’s 10th Reunion Campaign Committee. As a leader of his class reunion campaign, Homer advocated for flexible, current-use gifts and emphasized participation as a marker of campaign success. Proving to be thoughtful and impassioned, Homer is recognized for his deep commitment to Harvard, exemplified by personal philanthropy, peer outreach, and committee engagement.
In recognition of his dedication and advocacy, Josh Li '92 was chosen for the Albert H. Gordon '23 Award, which honors generous and hardworking leaders whose actions meaningfully contribute to Harvard’s annual fundraising successes. As a newer member of the Associates Committee, Li was an active and highly effective volunteer. He went above and beyond, engaging with nearly 400 peers last year. His outreach resulted in approximately 200 gifts for Harvard, which included many Associates gifts. These efforts helped in recruiting several new volunteers and deepening alumni connections. Li is known by many for his generosity and deep engagement.
The Joseph R. Hamlen '04 Award, which celebrates participation leaders whose personal outreach to classmates results in broad donor support, was given to two groups this year. Both—the Classes of 1968 and 1998—demonstrated exceptional dedication and engagement in promoting participation.
The Class of 1968’s 55th Reunion Campaign Committee is a perennial reunion and annual campaign powerhouse when it comes to broad class participation. They became the first post-50th reunion class in Harvard College Fund history to simultaneously lead all classes in participation and achieve over 150 Associates donors for five consecutive years. The Class's Reunion Campaign Committee are considered true champions of Harvard.
Members of the Class of 1968’s 55th Reunion Campaign Committee include James V. Baker, Alan D. Bersin, Stephen B. Burbank, Peter R. Burnim, Michael V. Dyett, Robert A. Goodin, Robert F. Higgins, Matthew H. Hobbs, Paul Hoffman, Eva I. Kampits, Edward M. Kovachy, Jr., Harry Roy Lewis, Eric S. Multhaup, Peter A. Nadosy, Thomas B. Reston, John E. Rorer II, Richard J. Stratton, Esq., David H. Taylor, Jr., Richard F. Tompkins, David J. Vitale, Evon Z. Vogt III, Stephen M. Waters, Charles E. Wiggin, and Raymond Zablotny.
The Class of 1998's 25th Reunion Campaign Committee was celebrated for their collaborative work to inspire peers to join them in making a gift in support of Harvard students and faculty. This committee, comprised of over 75 members from around the world, reached out to nearly 800 classmates and beat their previous personal best in Harvard gifts, including in flexible, current-use dollars. This team of new and veteran volunteers demonstrated leadership, adaptability, and passion for making a positive difference.
The exceptional members of the Class of 1998's 25th Reunion Campaign Committee include Alex-Handrah R. Aime, Joaquin A. Avino, Sheila V. Barrett, Melissa Roman Burch, Bronwen Cowan Carroll, Sewell Chan, Nicolas A. Chavez, Julie A. Chen, Yu Chen, Benjamin C. Choi, Joseph Chong, Michelle McClelland Clark, Putney W. Cloos, Erin F. Delaney, Susan Anne Dunn, Coventry Edwards-Pitt, John A. Ferry, Lauren Reiss Frank, Richard G. Fraser, Erin Pond Friedland, Peter H. Friedland, Joel B. Friedman, Mario J. Garcia-Serra, Zachary M. Gingo, Anthony W. Greenberg, Keiko Iwahara Greenberg, Sarah Lodewick Guido, Adam T. Hayes, Carlos A. Ingles, Carrie A. Jablonski, Jennifer S. Joel, Philip R. Kaufman, Emily Stauffer Keenan, Philip I. Kim, Kristin E. Knox, Garrick V. Lau, Thong Q. Le, Michael J. Liersch, Rachel Rosenthal Liersch, Tiffany Austin Liston, Eric C. Liu, Jay P. Makadia, Nikhil R. Mehta, Pia A. Menezes, Evelyn Tollinche Miller, Anupam Mishra, Kavita Kacholia Mishra, Alexander R. Nettune, John D. Nichols III, Brian S. Panoff, Tatiana G. P. Perkin, Jason L. Perri, Melissa Brause Rackoff, Donald J. Rissmiller, Thomas C. Rollins Jr., Claire L. Ross, Bret R. Rutherford, Edmond M. Safra, Sadie H. Sanchez, Kenji D. Scott, Alison L. Seanor, Nina Shah, Sameer A. Sheth, Ian T. Simmons, Megan Basil Song, Soyoun K. Song, Kristofer J. Thiessen, Grant M. Thompson, Amit Tiwari, Xiaomeng Tong, W. Stephen Venable Jr., Robert T. Walsh, John R. Warren, and Brant K. Wong.
Finally, the Richard T. Flood '27 Award, the premier recogntion for reunion gift performance in the previous year, was presented to the Class of 1993’s 30th Reunion Campaign Committee. The Class of 1993 raised $205.7 million, a record-breaking campaign that included $7.7 million in flexible, current-use funding. These gifts were the result of strong leadership, with committed teams of new and veteran volunteers working in alignment with each other and in support of the Harvard College Fund.
Recipients of the Flood Award and1993's 30th Reunion Campaign Committee include Robert V. Ashley, Archan K. Basu, Johanna Berkman, Raj Bhattacharyya, Lorna Brittan-Smith, Henry L. Chen, Chih Tin Cheung, Sung J. Chung, Ross Anden Garon, Kate Gellert, Cynthia M. Godsoe, David E. Goel, Elise J. Gudeman, Joshua D. Harlan, James M. Harmon, Hollie Moore Haynes, Robert Howard, Eric Hsia, Brett R. Huff, Brent P. Johnstone, Steven N. Kalkanis, Mary Louise Kelly, Steven C. Krause, Roger G. Kuo, Abbott W. Lawrence, David G. Lefer, Deirdre Ryan Ley, Titu Liu, Alexander R. Magaro, Alicia Dawn McGill, Mark Mofid, Clara J. Ohr, Brenda Pagán-Durán, Tracy Pun Palandjian, Jonathan D. Quander, Laura M. Raisty, Roshini C. Rajapaksa, Neal J. Reenan, Stephen C. Root, Joshua N. Rosenbaum, Shikha Sethi, Jacob L. Silverman, Benjamin A. Smith, Nicole Diane St. John, Edwin P. Su, Derek N. Sulger, Erica G. Rowe Urquhart, Eva Romas Wilson, Harry J. Wilson, Jason T. Winmill, and Juan Carlos Zarate.
Passionate support and meaningful alumni engagement is a vital part of the Harvard College Fund community. Efforts by alumni volunteers make a tangible impact on current students’ lives while providing continued support for Harvard's future.