Honoring the Great Citizens of Today.
INTRODUCTION of the 59th CONVOCATION:
The 59th Convocation will be held in
the Illinois House of Representatives chamber
at the Illinois State Capitol on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
The Laureates Honored
His Eminence Wilton Cardinal Gregory,
Karen Hasara, John W. Rogers, Jr.,
Thomas E. Skilling III,
Jayne Carr Thompson, Paula Wolff
For more information, please contact Leanne Barnhart,
Executive Director, at 217-493-0047 or
LBarnhart@TheLincolnAcademyOfIllinois.org
We thank all of our sponsors and supporters.
Student Laureates Inducted in 2022 via a pre-recorded congratulatory video
Bill Plante and the Lincoln Laureates Podcast
by Matthew Lyle
It is with deep sadness that we share the news of legendary reporter Bill Plante’s passing. Plante spent 52 years as a correspondent for CBS News covering major historic events such as the arrival of U.S. troops in Vietnam, Martin Luther King Jr.’s march across Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and the administrations of four U.S. presidents starting with Ronald Reagan. He passed away Wednesday at the age of 84 from respiratory failure.
Plante was kind enough to lend his talents to the Lincoln Laureate podcast series, interviewing fellow journalists George Will and Bill Kurtis. Those episodes can be listened to at the below links:
George Will, Son of the Prairie
Bill Kurtis, Service Through Truth
Excellence. Service. Honor.
The Lincoln Academy of Illinois partners with donors, members, and regents to advance the values exhibited in the life of Abraham Lincoln: Excellence, service, and honor.
We are committed to programs that:
- Honor distinguished Illinoisans’ contributions to society;
- Encourage public service; and
- Invest in developing principled leadership for the future.
We can all play a role in encouraging leadership in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln through the Lincoln Academy of Illinois.
Invest in leadership, in excellence, in the future of Illinois. Join us →
News
Laureate (1996, Business and Education) Willard L. “Sandy” Boyd passes away at 95;
Willard “Sandy” Boyd Memorial Service
Newton Minow: The Public Interest Podcast
Ziegler native Dr. Nick Holonyak, Jr., 2005 Laureate, Passes Away at 93
Ramsey Lewis, 1997 Laureate, Passes Away at 87
Bernard Shaw, 2002 Laureate, Passes Away at 82
Maj. Gen. John Borling – Lincoln Laureates Podcast
Business Executive Frank Clark – Lincoln Laureates Podcast
2021 Student Laureates Announced
NBA Star Doug Collins – Lincoln Laureates Podcast
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Mourns the Passing of Joanne C. Smith, MD, President & CEO
MLB Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg – Lincoln Laureate Podcast
Educational Pioneer Stephanie Pace Marshall – Lincoln Laureate Podcast
“The Lincoln Laureates” Podcast
Frank Clark, Chancellor, and The Honorable Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker, President of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois
The Lincoln Academy of Illinois
MISSION STATEMENT
To honor individuals whose outstanding contributions to the betterment of mankind have been accomplished in or on behalf of the State of Illinois, or whose achievements have brought honor to the State because of their identity with it, whether by birth or residence, or by their dedication to those principles of democracy and humanity as exemplified by the great Illinoisan whose name we bear. These individuals, reflective of the diverse populace of the State of Illinois, are named Laureates of the Academy and receive the “Order of Lincoln,” the State of Illinois’ highest award, at an annual Convocation.
To honor one outstanding senior from each of the four year not-for-profit degree granting institutions and one outstanding senior from among all of the community college students who, in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, demonstrated leadership and service in his or her campus or community and excellence in curricular and co-curricular programs, to be named Student Laureates and receive the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award and the Lincoln Medallion.
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The Order of Lincoln honors individuals whose contributions to the betterment of humanity have been accomplished in Illinois, or whose achievements have brought honor to the state because of their identity with it, whether by birth or residence. It is the state’s highest award for professional achievement and public service.
Funds raised at the Academy’s Order of Lincoln Convocation help provide the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement awards and the ‘Lincoln Medallion’ which will be presented by the Academy’s President to each of 57 Student Laureates at a separate ceremony held in Springfield later this year.
Thus, the Lincoln Academy honors the Great Citizens of Today and Celebrates the Great Citizens of Tomorrow — knowing that now, as always, our state and nation need what Vachel Lindsay called ‘Lincoln-hearted’ men and women.
Mr. Lincoln would be proud.