September 7, 2001

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Contact: Jennifer Jackson Sanner, Kansas Alumni Association, (785) 864-4760

KU Alumni Association honors 3 as 2001 Ellsworth Medallion winners

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas Alumni Association has selected William P. Bunyan III of Dodge City; Barbara Burkholder Nordling of Lawrence; and Linda Bliss Stewart of Wellington as the winners of this year's Fred Ellsworth Medallion for extraordinary service to KU.

The Alumni Association's national Board of Directors and the KU community will honor the three on Sept. 14 at the Adams Alumni Center.

The Ellsworth medallion has been given since 1975 to those who follow the example of extraordinary service to KU set by the Association's longtime executive secretary, Fred Ellsworth, a 1922 graduate, who retired in 1963 after 39 years. Winners are chosen by representatives from the Chancellor's Office and the Alumni, Athletics and Endowment associations.

Each of this year's winners has ardently made the case for KU in a small Kansas community. Each has shown a commitment to young people as a local volunteer for the Kansas Honors Program. And each has worked to ensure that the University's traditions and rich cultural offerings grow even stronger for generations that follow.

William P. Bunyan III

Bunyan, a 1961 graduate, has acted as Dodge City's unofficial ambassador to KU for more than a quarter-century. As chair of the Dodge City alumni chapter, Bunyan presided over a seven-county area to host countless KU events with his wife, Susan. He shared with the Alumni Association his statewide vision as a board member from 1987 to 1992. In 1987 he was among the first to receive the Mildred Clodfelter Alumni Award for sustained local volunteer service to KU. For years he has encouraged countless western Kansas students to choose KU, urging his local alumni chapter to establish a merit-based scholarship for new Jayhawks and chairing the local Kansas Honors Program events, part of the Association's statewide tribute to the top 10 percent of high-school seniors. He also became known for his signature "orientation program" for Hill-bound students, inspiring their excitement for KU traditions.

Also for the Association, life member Bunyan has served as a member of Jayhawks for Higher Education, which communicates the needs of higher education to the Kansas Legislature, a 'Hawk to 'Hawk mentor to KU students and an employment liaison for the Hire a Hawk program.

For the KU Endowment Association, he was a member of the National Council and a leadership donor for Campaign Kansas, the University's fund drive from 1988 to 1992, and he served on the the Greater University Fund Advisory Board. He is a Chancellors Club and Williams Educational Fund member.

Barbara Burkholder Nordling

Nordling, a 1951 graduate, has made service to KU a career, lending her substantial volunteer efforts to strengthen the arts and academics at KU. She has served on the School of Fine Arts advisory board and the Lied Center board of governors. Her committee peers laud her special talent for uniting people in support of the arts for school-age children. Nordling helps facilitate many programs that bring world-class performing arts to KU and to local public-school classrooms.

Before she and her husband, Bernie, a 1949 graduate, moved to Lawrence, Nordling was a KU stalwart in Hugoton, hosting numerous KU events in her home and chairing the Kansas Honors Program for many years. She also advanced KU's legislative agenda as a Jayhawk for Higher Education. She and Bernie are Association life members.

For the KU Endowment Association, she assisted Campaign Kansas in the late 1980s as a National Council and Southwest Kansas committee member and special gift donor. She and Bernie are members of the Chancellors Club and the Williams Educational Fund.

Linda Bliss Stewart

Stewart, a 1960 graduate, is described by colleagues as a silent hero of the KU community. Her behind-the-scenes work on University boards and committees has one common denominator: her desire to strengthen the arts at the University and to make performances more accessible to Kansans. Stewart was instrumental in the early vision and planning that helped shape the programming philosophy for the Lied Center.

Stewart currently serves on the advisory board for the School of Fine Arts and in recent years has shared her astute diplomacy and pragmatic approach to encourage a productive partnership between the school and the Lied Center. As a central Kansan, she encouraged talented young students as the chair for the Kansas Honors Program in Wellington, where she and her husband, John, a 1958 graduate, make their home. She also has served as a member of Jayhawks for Higher Education. She and John are Alumni Association life members.

For the KU Endowment Association, she served on the National Council Constituent Committee and was a leadership donor for Campaign Kansas. She and John are Chancellors Club and Williams Educational Fund members.

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