Dominican Mission Award—recognizes an alum who has shown a commitment to social justice or a history of extraordinary volunteer service in the community, country, or the world.
Promise Award—recognizes an alum, 40 years of age or younger, who is an emerging leader and has achieved a high level of success through professional accomplishments and service to his or her alma mater or community.
Dr. Joe Gothard, a Madison native, became superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools in July of 2017. He is the educational leader of a district that serves more than 36,000 students and employs nearly 6,000 staff. Dr. Gothard has been passionate about public education his entire career and serves his community through many volunteer leadership roles, and beyond. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by police officers in Minneapolis. Dr. Gothard led the district through the aftermath of that crime and the protests in the area that followed.
Tyrone personifies the power of a liberal arts education. He attended Madison East High School and arrived at Edgewood College as part of the inaugural cohort of our Community Scholars program. Today, he is a City of Madison Police Officer and serves in the direct area where he was raised in Madison. What started as a job has become a central focus of Tyrone’s life – nearly all his time away from the streets of Madison is occupied by his service to others. He uses his position to bring awareness and solutions to issues that are plaguing the community. He has led training courses for law enforcement, social service agencies, colleges, and universities on topics of implicit racial bias and its effects on decision making and community relations. Tyrone is passionate about speaking with and mentoring young people about entering the work force, about the realities of the ‘real world,’ and about taking control – and responsibility. He has taught and mentored at-risk youth on topics of financial literacy and employment education. Tyrone is now certified through the National Financial Education Council, and he continues to engage the Madison community as a Financial Literacy Educator through the company he started, Cratic Capital Development LLC, to help spread his message of financial literacy and responsibility to reach a wider audience. An engaged community learner and leader, Tyrone recently joined the Edgewood College Board of Trustees.