Independent Award

The Independent Award, was established to recognize personal accomplishment and the spirit of independence and self-reliance, which is characteristic of Brown graduates, exemplified by Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, and memorialized by the statue atop the Rhode Island State House. Sponsored by the Brown Club of New York and the Associated Alumni, the first awards in 1985 were presented to Richard B. Salomon ’32, and Malcolm Forbes. The awards were presented in 1986 to Thomas J. Watson, Jr. ’37 and Kathryn Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space, in 1987 to Vernon Alden ’45 and Joseph Paterno ’50, in 1988 to Artemis A. W. Joukowsky ’55, businessman H. Ross Perot, and former president Howard Swearer, in 1989 to President Gregorian and Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker, in 1990 to Charles C. Tillinghast ’32 and Robert Edward “Ted” Turner ’60, and in 1991 to Apple Computer president Stephen P. Jobs, Marvin Bower ’25, and Nancy L. Buc ’65.