Award Winners

Joseph B. Shane ’25 Alumni Service Award: Rich Truit ’66

The Joseph B. Shane ’25 Award was established in 1985 in memory of Joe Shane, who gave Swarthmore 22 years of devoted service as vice president of alumni affairs and public relations. The Shane Award recognizes alumni who have contributed significant time and service to benefit the College.

For more than fifty years, Rich has consistently stepped up to serve the Swarthmore community. His deeply engaged volunteerism spans alumni leadership, governance, and athletics. He has contributed meaningfully across the institution, serving as a member and president of the Alumni Council, a member of the Board of Managers, and as a volunteer on the Garnet Council and the Athletics and Well-Being Committee.

Most recently, Rich was one of the driving forces behind the 2025 Football Reunion. He originated the idea and provided steady, thoughtful leadership to guide a complex re-engagement effort across a divided alumni community. Through careful personal outreach, he thoughtfully brought together a group with widely varying perspectives, successfully restoring trust and goodwill. Ultimately, the weekend welcomed more than 100 members of the football community back to campus to reconnect and reflect.

Rich's five decades of sustained, thoughtful service have left an indelible mark on the community.

Arabella Carter Award for Community Service: Naomi Zikmund-Fisher ’91

The Arabella Carter Award for Community Service was created in 1997 by the Alumni Council to honor alumni who are outstanding volunteers. An undersung Quaker who devoted her life to peace and social justice, 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.

This year’s Carter Award winner is Naomi Zikmund-Fisher ’91, given in recognition of Naomi’s commitment to community-based mental health care, social and legal justice, and her sustained record of service and advocacy on behalf of others.

As a psychotherapist based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Naomi has aligned her professional practice with a profound, values-driven commitment to equity, mental health, and social justice. Beyond her professional life, the selection committee chose to highlight the remarkable breadth and consistency of her sustained volunteer work. For years, Naomi has quietly dedicated herself to grassroots advocacy, community-based support, and expanding legal and social justice access.

In short, Naomi has stepped up. When people needed counseling after crisis events, Naomi offered support and guidance. When gay people sought to get married, Naomi became an ordained minister and offered her services. When the federal government began aggressively detaining people on the streets of Michigan, Naomi volunteered as a trained legal observer, there to ensure people’s rights were not infringed upon. And by the way, most of the time when Naomi volunteers for something, she is sooner or later asked to take on a leadership role.

Whether championing equity in her local community or quietly supporting environmental sustainability, Naomi’s actions are always rooted in service, using whatever privilege Naomi has to support others.

Eugene M. Lang ’38, H’81 Impact Award: Donald Lloyd-Jones ’86, P’22

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.” The award is given annually to alumni who have made an impact on society at large.

This year’s Eugene Lang Impact Award is presented to Donald Lloyd-Jones ’86 in recognition of his scholarship in the field of cardiovascular disease epidemiology and his contributions to improving population health and reducing health disparities.

As a national leader in cardiovascular medicine, epidemiology, and public health, Don currently serves as a Professor and Center Director for the historic Framingham Heart Study at Boston University. Over several decades, his academic and institutional leadership has fundamentally transformed how the medical community understands and implements preventive cardiovascular care. Don’s Swarthmore ties run deep: in addition to being an alum himself, he is the son, brother, father, and uncle of Swatties.  

The selection committee chose to honor Donald because his vast body of research does not simply live in academic journals — through Don’s involvement with the American Heart Association, it directly shapes national clinical guidelines and public health approaches. His work provides a massive societal benefit by redefining how clinicians, researchers, and policymakers approach longevity and heart health, ultimately leading to vastly improved patient outcomes nationwide.  

Don has also made mentorship of the next generation of health professionals a priority, as well as a special focus on equity, to make sure that the results of his work reach every community possible.

As a public health leader, Don's work has benefitted millions; his exceptional career embodies the very best of Swarthmore’s mission to use scholarship and leadership for the greater good.