Banker, judge, professor win honor for KU service

R.A. Edwards

Two alumni and a longtime professor will receive the 2002 Fred Ellsworth Medallion—the Alumni Association's highest honor for service to the University. This year's medalists are R.A. Edwards, Hutchinson; Cordell D. Meeks Jr., Kansas City, Kan.; and Professor Emeritus James E. Seaver, Lawrence.

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, c'22, who retired in 1963 after 39 years. Winners are chosen by representatives from the Chancellor's Office and the Alumni, Athletics and Endowment associations.

For years, Edwards, b'67, g'73, has helped recruit countless as a volunteer for the Office of Admissions and Scholarships. He also serves as a board member to Natural Ties, a national group founded at KU in 1988 to support friendships between KU students and people with disabilities.

Since 1980 Edwards has lent his experience as president and chief executive officer of the First National Bank of Hutchinson to the School of Business Board of Advisors.

For the Alunni Association, life member Edwards supports the Kansas Honors Program and has served as an alumni representative to the KU Intercollegiate Athletics Corp. board.
For the KU Endowment Association, Edwards is a trustee and a member of the executive committee.

Cordell Meeks Jr.

As a Kansas district judge, Meeks, c'64, l'67, has earned a reputation for fairness on the bench; he brings this poise to his work for many KU boards and committees. His enduring interest in opportunities for minority students led to his past role on the advisory board for minority development for the School of Nursing. He also serves as a member of the community development advisory board for The Juniper Gardens Children's Project, whose mission is to improve the lives of at-risk children in urban communities. He advises KU's Edwards Campus in Overland Park, and he is a member and past president of the Law Society Board of Governors.

For the Association, life member Meeks served as national chairman from 1997 to 1998. He is a former steering committee member for the Rock Chalk Ball, hosted by the Greater Kansas City alumni chapter to benefit the recruitment and retention of National Merit Scholars at KU.

In 1995 Meeks received the Distinguished Service Citation, the highest honor bestowed by the University and the Alumni Association for service to humanity. In 2001 the School of Law honored him with its Distinguished Alumnus Citation.

James E. Seaver

Professor Emeritus James E. Seaver heightened the cultural awareness of several generations of KU students during his 25-year tenure as director of the Western Civilization program. But his contributions to the cultural landscape have not been limited to the classroom.

As campus radio station KANU-now known as Kansas Public Radio-celebrates its 50-year anniversary, Seaver also reaches the half-century mark as volunteer host of the station's "Opera is my Hobby" program. He also contributes countless hours to catalog KU's Archive of Recorded Sound, to which he donated more than 24,000 opera records.

Described by colleagues as a Renaissance man, Seaver also taught in the department of history and served as a faculty member for the Office of Study Abroad. The department of humanities and Western Civilization instituted the James E. Seaver Lecture Series on Continuing Issues in Western Civilization to honor his enduring vision.
In 1985 Seaver received the Chancellors Club Teaching professorship, which he held until his retirement.

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