Robert R. Bowie Jr.
Sheila Carr-Stewart
John S. Higgins Jr.
Barbara Long
Lidija Ortloff
Maria Patterson
Nicholas C. Taylor
Seven alumni are to receive this year’s Hiram S. Hunn Memorial Schools and Scholarships Awards, presented by the Harvard College Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. Hunn, a member of the College class of 1921, recruited and interviewed prospective students for more than 55 years in Iowa and Vermont; this year’s winners, who are recognized for their work on schools and scholarships committees worldwide, have collectively performed more than 165 years of service. They will be honored at an October 23 ceremony.
Robert R. Bowie Jr. ’73, of Towson, Maryland. Told when he began interviewing that it was “extremely unlikely” any of his candidates would be admitted, Bowie was surprised when his first one got in. From that moment, he “was hooked.” Later, as area cochair, he expanded his geographic coverage and number of applicants. After 30 years, Bowie continues to see the Harvard admissions process as “fun, enlightening, and wise.”
Sheila Carr-Stewart, AMP ’92, of Edmonton, Alberta. For the past decade, Carr-Stewart has interviewed College applicants from the three Canadian “prairie provinces.” And if often chided for “taking the best and brightest” not only for the “east” but for the “American east!” she perseveres in the “rewarding experience” of meeting these young people and their families. Not even “our blissful, negative 40-degree temperatures” can deter her.
John S. Higgins Jr. ’61, of Visalia, California. Higgins was introduced to schools committee work years ago by Harvard legend Fred Glimp ’50. So began a more than 30-year sojourn that has found him chairing committee activities throughout the San Joaquin Valley. The work remains a chance to “give back” for the many opportunities afforded by his own Harvard education.
Barbara Long, Ph.D. ’82, of Atlanta. After interviewing in Minnesota for nearly 15 years, where she saw no admits from her efforts but remained “undaunted,” Long moved to Atlanta. There, she coauthored a “send-off book” for Georgia freshmen making their way to Harvard and has flourished in an “all-purpose” support role that encompasses interviewing, recruiting, and preparing students for the College.
Lidija Ortloff ’82, of Westwood, Massachusetts. Pressed into service early, Ortloff began interviewing applicants “a few months” after graduating. She has chaired one of the Boston suburb groups for nearly 20 years, although her involvement has extended down the eastern seaboard from Massachusetts to Virginia and back again.
Maria Patterson ’70, of New York City. Having begun her schools committee career back when “it was all yellow pads, faxes, and snail mail,” Patterson has been fully invested in the work of the Manhattan group for 15 years. As a cochair, she has shepherded the city’s alumni through the joys and perils of interviewing applicants, and welcomes “the possibility of perhaps making a difference in someone’s life.”
Nicholas C. Taylor ’59, of Midland, Texas. With 35 years of interviewing experience under his belt, Taylor has chaired committee efforts through more than 69,000 square miles of west Texas. Among his interviewees: a brother and sister from a tiny school who were also skilled in herding, roping, branding, and inoculating cattle.
