Six seniors will receive the 2001 Wallace E. Barron award during Veishea this year. Recipients were selected by the ISU Alumni Association.

“It is an honor because it recognizes the achievements of top students,” said Pat Thiede, alumni event secretary.

The award was established in 1968, when Barron retired as the director of the Alumni Association. He was a 1928 ISU graduate and passed away two years after retiring.

The association established this award in his honor to recognize outstanding seniors who display high character, outstanding achievement in academics and activities, a deep interest in the university and a promise for continuing these qualities as alumni. The awards banquet and ceremony for the seniors will be held April 22 in Hilton Coliseum.

The six seniors receiving the award are Stephanie Connor, materials engineering; Ana Catalina Flores, chemical engineering; Katie Goldsmith, journalism and mass communication; Chad Harris, political science; Jennifer Spencer, journalism and mass communication and Carrie Tett, journalism and mass communication.

Students will receive a lifetime membership to the Alumni Association, which is a $700 value.

“We give out awards in seven categories during homecoming, except the Barron Award which is given during Veishea,” Thiede said. “All of the honors and awards we give out are primarily for alumni except for this one.”

Spencer was nominated by her managers in Carrie Chapman Catt Hall, and said she remembered older friends who had been nominated for the same award.

“They were people that I looked up to and that I respected,” she said. “I was really honored when I found out. I think it’s a great way to stay interconnected with the Iowa State environment.”

When Spencer is older, she said she will put her hard-earned paychecks to good work.

“When I am rich and famous, I want to give money back to the journalism department,” she said. “I love Iowa State.”

After being nominated by an academic adviser or campus organization adviser, Thiede said students must provide three letters of recommendation. Nominated students must also provide information on important aspects of their college career, such as honors they have received, positions they have held and their grade point average.

After the deadline for nominations came to a close on Dec. 1, selection committee members met to make a decision.

“[Members of the selection committee] are alumni of Iowa State, but others have an opportunity to apply for the position, and the Alumni Board of Directors Nominating committee selects the new committee members,” Thiede said.

The honors and awards committee met in February and selected six seniors out of the 18 students nominated.

Thiede said there is no a set number of awards each year. The committee simply compares the candidates and then decides who is worthy of receiving each award.

“This is the only undergraduate award that the Alumni Association gives out,” Thiede said.