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Nancy Aossey Receives Honorary Degree
An honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.), was awarded to distinguished alumnus Nancy Aossey (Marketing '82, M.B.A. '84) of the University of Northern Iowa during its commencement exercises Saturday, May 10, in the UNI-Dome.
Nancy Aossey, who has gained national and international recognition for her success as president and CEO of International Medical Corps, will receive one of the two honorary degrees presented at the commencement.
She was recommended to UNI President Benjamin Allen and the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, earlier this year, with the approval of UNI's Honorary Degree Committee and the Faculty Senate, and approved this spring by the Regents.
Aossey, who received her honorary degree during the 2:30 p.m. commencement exercises, earned a marketing degree in 1982 and an M.B.A. in 1984, both from UNI. She joined the International Medical Corps (IMC) in 1986, and has guided the organization from its three-employee beginnings to a $100-million-plus relief organization with more than 4,000 volunteers and staff working in 21 countries.
"Her success as an executive has been widely recognized by the business community, that has cited her success in applying an entrepreneurial perspective to reach humanitarian goals," wrote her nominator, Leslie K. Wilson, associate dean of the UNI College of Business Administration.
"A humanitarian organization that provides health care training and relief and development programs worldwide, IMC is often the first responder in disaster situations around the world. By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk, IMC rehabilitates devastated health care and economic systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance."
In 2006, Aossey received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Center for Creative Leadership and was named Non-Profit CEO of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal. She earned the 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), an award given to a select few individuals, some at the level of Nobel Laureate.
Under her leadership, IMC has earned a sterling reputation as a charitable organization, receiving commendations worldwide for its programs, staff and fiscal responsibility. IMC has been awarded Charity Navigator's highest Four Star Charity rating and is rated "A+" by the American Institute of Philanthropy. The Better Business Bureau has determined that IMC meets or exceeds its Wise Giving Alliance Standards, a further indication of IMC's respect for its stakeholders and the public, Wilson said.
IMC has been featured in Forbes magazine as one of "America's 200 Largest Charities," where it was most recently rated as having 99 percent fundraising efficiency. Worth magazine chose IMC as one of "America's 100 Best Charities" in 2002 and 2003, the two years the magazine conducted this survey.
Wilson said Aossey has also forged a reputation among international policy makers, becoming increasingly influential as an adviser around the globe on issues of humanitarian assistance. She has been a frequent guest at the White House where she has briefed the president, vice president and first lady on humanitarian issues.
Aossey has testified before the U.S. Congress, served as Chairman of the Board of InterAction, America's largest coalition of international relief organizations, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the United States Agency for International Development's Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. She is a commissioner for the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children and a member of the Young President's Organization.
Posted on 12-May-08
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