World-renowned alumni participate in Commencement

Three alumni who have created a new field of legal study, transformed the pharmaceutical industry and influenced the political discourse of a nation are the 2006 recipients of the Distinguished Service Citation, KU's highest honor. They are Philip P. Frickey, c'75, Moraga, Calif.; Irving S. Johnson, PhD'53, Sanibel, Fla.; and Robert Milton Worcester, b'55, Maidstone, United Kingdom.

The honorees will walk the Hill with graduates during Commencement May 21, following special tributes at the All-University Supper May 19.

Established in 1941, the Distinguished Service Citation recognizes those who have benefited humanity through their careers and civic involvement. Recipients are selected by representatives from the Alumni and Endowment associations and the Chancellor's office.

Philip P. Frickey

As a prominent lawyer, author and professor, Frickey redefined the field of statutory interpretation with his book, Cases and Materials on Legislation: Statutes and the Creation of Public Policy. In addition, he is widely known as an expert on federal Indian law, for which he has testified before the Senate's Select Committee of Indian Affairs, published articles in the Harvard Law Review and provided pro bono services for the Native American Rights Fund Supreme Court Project.

Currently a distinguished professor at the University of California at Berkeley, the Oberlin, Kan., native left KU with top honors and a bachelor's degree in political science. At the University of Michigan, he served as editor-in-chief of the law review. As he began his career, Frickey continued to rise to the top with clerkships for 5th Circuit Judge John Minor Wisdom and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Frickey previously practiced law with the firm of Shea & Gardner and taught at the University of Minnesota. He also served KU as a visiting associate professor in 1980.

Frickey's petitions to the Minnesota Supreme Court leveled the playing field for state bar applicants by removing mental-health counseling questions from the application. His work helped strengthen tribal sovereignty in the Supreme Court decision U.S. v. Lara, and his textbooks still serve as leading authorities for law students.

Irving S. Johnson

More than 200 million diabetics worldwide can thank Johnson for readily available, low-cost insulin. During his 35-year career with Eli Lilly and Co., Johnson's work in biomedical research led to the discovery and implementation of a recombinant DNA/genetic engineering technique. The technique, now used throughout the pharmaceutical industry, allowed for the commercial production of human insulin.

Johnson also participated in the Salk polio vaccine clinical trials, created a class of cancer-fighting drugs and helped develop Prozac, an antidepressant now prescribed for millions of patients.

For his efforts, he received the first Congressional Award for Science and Technology in 1984 and was honored in 2004 by KU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with its Distinguished Achievement Award. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has consulted for the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Johnson serves on a variety of national and international boards. At KU he established the Irving S. Johnson Professorship in molecular biology in 2004.

Robert Milton Worcester

When the U.K. political scene heats up, MPs, the prime minister and even the Royal Family look to Worcester to gauge the public's response. Worcester moved to England in 1969 and founded Market & Opinion Research International, the country's leading polling research agency.

A frequent figure in the media, he has contributed to The Economist, The Financial Times and The Observer as well as television and radio broadcasts. He has written four books and holds honorary degrees from six universities. Queen Elizabeth in 2005 bestowed upon him the title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Worcester recently accepted the chancellor position at the University of Kent, and he helps lead his local community as a deputy lieutenant of Kent. He enthusiastically serves many national organizations, including the United Nations Association, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Magna Carta Trust, Forum for the Future, Ditchley Foundation and the European Atlantic Group.

Still in touch with his Kansas roots, the pollster returned to campus in April 2005 to celebrate his 50-year class reunion and establish a distinguished professorship in political science.