Allegheny College Alumna and Trustee Emerita Honored With President’s Medallion

March 6, 2015 – Allegheny College alumna and trustee emerita Patricia Bush Tippie received the college’s inaugural President’s Medallion during a ceremony on Feb. 6, 2015. The President’s Medallion celebrates the best of liberal arts education by recognizing individuals of distinction and national stature who are themselves graduates of liberal arts colleges.

Mrs. Tippie is a member of Allegheny’s Class of 1956. She has served as an Allegheny College Trustee since 1992 and before that as a member of the College’s Alumni Council.

“This was the first time in my life that I have been surprised, so at first I was shocked and overwhelmed. Then I realized that all of my trustee friends were responsible for me receiving this high honor and I felt humbled, honored and loved. It was an unforgettable evening,” says Mrs. Tippie.

President James H. Mullen Jr., who presented the award to Mrs. Tippie, says, “It is fitting that in our bicentennial year we would honor one of the most beloved and important figures in Allegheny history. It will remain one of the greatest joys of my presidency to have awarded Pat Tippie with the President’s Medallion. She represents the best of Allegheny and the liberal arts tradition in America.”

Mrs. Tippie and her husband, Henry B. Tippie, are longtime supporters of higher education. Allegheny’s Cochran Hall was restored in 2005 to house the Patricia Bush Tippie Alumni Center, and the business school at the University of Iowa is named in Mr. Tippie’s honor. The Tippies have established a scholarship to benefit Allegheny College students and have endowed the Tippie Chair to support distinguished faculty at the College.