Award Winners
Arabella Carter Award
Monica Pannwitt Bradsher ’63 is the recipient of the 2018 Arabella Carter Award. For the past two decades, Bradsher has been a full-time volunteer in Baton Rouge. Bradsher volunteered as a tutor in the public schools, then recruited, scheduled, and coordinated droves of additional volunteer tutors. She helped LSU develop a math methods course for public schools and led a successful bond campaign to reboot municipal public transportation when it was about to go under. Bradsher and her husband Henry adopted two struggling families, guiding the parents to better living quarters and taking the youngsters under their wings to help with school, church, and financing college. Professionally, Bradsher has taught elementary school, and she created the Kids Network, a global community sharing math and science projects online.
Arabella Carter was one of the great unsung heroes who worked for peace and social justice in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in the early 1900s. Arabella Carter studied in Swarthmore’s preparatory division in 1886 and was the first peace superintendent of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Until her death in 1932, she championed African-American rights as a Pennsylvania Abolition Society officer. She never sought publicity or recognition for her work and was largely forgotten by all but Friends Historical Library archivists, who saw her hand in Quaker peace and social justice work over three decades. She appears to have received no monetary compensation for all these services, living simply on family money. This award, established in 1997 by the Alumni Council and presented each year at reunion, honors alumni who have made significant contributions as volunteers.
View past Arabella Carter Award winners.
Joseph Shane Award
Bob Fetter ’53 is the recipient of the 2018 Joseph Shane ’25 Award. Fetter embodies the very spirit of the Joseph B. Shane award. Fetter's Quaker spirit is apparent in his humble and gentle demeanor. This year, he organized reunion activities for the Class of ’53 as chair—a title he does not embrace. He prefers to be called “reunion volunteer.” No matter the title, this is one of many volunteer roles he’s held over the years on reunion committees, as an Alumni Council member, a Class Agent, an Admissions Interviewer, and serving on the Capital Funds Committee.
This award honors Swarthmore alumni who have contributed significant time and service to benefit the College. It was established in 1985 in honor of the late Joseph B. Shane '25, who served Swarthmore College as vice president for alumni affairs and public relations for 22 years. He was also active in the Religious Society of Friends. At Shane’s retirement dinner in 1972, James Michener ’29 called him “the best of the Swarthmore tradition.”
View past Joseph Shane '25 Award winners.
Eugene M. Lang Impact Award
Kurt Eichenwald ’83 is the recipient of the 2018 Eugene M. Lang '38, H’81 Impact Award. Eichenwald, who could not attend, is a New York Times bestselling author of five non-fiction books. In addition to his distinguished work as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and senior writer at Newsweek, Eichenwald spent two decades as a senior writer at the New York Times, where he was a is a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a two-time winner of the George Polk Award, as well as the winner of the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism, and an Emmy Award nominee. In his writing, Eichenwald raises awareness of important issues through epic storytelling and laser-sharp detail. His forthcoming book, A Mind Unraveled, documents his life with epilepsy, including challenges he faced as a student at Swarthmore, and his ensuing decades-long battle to not only survive, but to thrive.
The Eugene M. Lang ’38, H’81 Impact Award was established in 2010 by the Alumni Council. It is named for its first recipient, Eugene Lang, a longtime supporter of Swarthmore College who has been described as “a father of innovation.” In naming this award for Eugene Lang, Alumni Council recognized his impact in both his business career and his philanthropy. The award is given to alumni who have made an impact on society at large.
