DOROTHY AND DARWIN WIEKAMP HONORED

Long-time champions and supporters of educational causes and community development, Darwin and Dorothy Wiekamp are the2005 Chancellor’s Medal recipients.

The medal is given to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding support of IU South Bend and serve as exceptional advocates for the campus and who personify the attributes of leadership, trust, respect, dignity, and teamwork.

The Wiekamps recently received the Center for History’s Community Philanthropy Award for their work.

Over the years, Mr. and Mrs. Wiekamp have been generous with their support of the university, health care, and the arts. Wiekamp Hall on campus is named for the couple. The Wiekamps’ gift provided funds for furnishings and equipment, including computer technology. They also have endowed a scholarship for 38 students in the Honor’s Program, athletics, and various majors.

Among their other gifts in the community, they contributed to the auditorium at the Center for History, the art gallery at IU South Bend, the addition at the Center for the Homeless, and the Schwartz-Wiekamp Clinic in Mishawaka.

Mr. Wiekamp currently serves as a member of the IU South Bend Advisory Board, and he received the School of Business and Economics E.M. Morris Award.

He served on the board of directors of the Century Center Foundation, the Center for the Homeless, Project Future, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, Inc., the Mishawaka Division of the Salvation Army, and Saint Mary’s College.

Mr. Wiekamp purchased the West End Bank of Mishawaka in the 1940s and with aggressive lending he acquired other banks to become the Mishawaka-based Valley American Bank, which is now National City Bank. For many years he was chairman and today he continues to serve as a senior consultant for National City .

He has been recognized by IU with an honorary degree, and he received the W. Scott Miller Distinguished Business Leader Award and the Individual Philanthropist Award from the Michiana Chapter of the Association of Fund Raising.

Mrs. Wiekamp is a longtime board member of the Center for History.

They have been married since 1936.

Past recipients include the IU South Bend Alumni Association, Rep. B. Patrick Bauer, the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, Judd and Mary Lou Leighton, The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County,former U.S. Representative Tim Roemer, Cheryl L. Little, and William and Kathryn Shields.