Distinguished Alumnus/a Award

Saint Mary's presents this award to an alumnus/a for outstanding achievements in their chosen profession. The award reflects career achievements with particular focus on the Lasallian values of mentoring and making an impact on others.

2024 Awardee: Candace (Langan) Lynch B’83

Candace “Candi” (Langan) Lynch B’83 is a recently retired lifelong educator whose passion revolved around working with populations of students and families who were deemed difficult by most. Her educational philosophy always focused on school culture and climate and the belief that all students, families, and staff deserved to feel seen, heard, and feel that they matter as a valued member of the learning community.

Throughout her 33-year career, she held a variety of roles. She worked as a classroom teacher and elementary school counselor for 18 years. She then moved into a role at the District level as an Elementary Student Services facilitator. In that position, she coordinated the work of the 24 elementary counselors, oversaw 504 compliance, was directly involved in District Bullying / Harassment policy and staff development, and worked collaboratively to assure that supports were in place to ensure learning for all students through the Social Emotional Behavioral curriculum and Positive Behavior Intervention Supports at all elementary schools.

In 2013, she became the principal of Johnson School of the Arts, which was designated by the state as a school in need of assistance due to high staff turnover, multiple principals in a short period of time, high absenteeism rate, and low achievement scores. The school was designated by the district as a Turnaround School, and during her time as a principal there, Johnson reopened as the first Magnet School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was renamed as Johnson STEAM Academy.

During her eight years as principal, significant changes took place due to her ability to work with multiple stakeholders and her collaborative leadership skills.

Under her leadership, Johnson STEAM Academy became certified as a Magnet School with the national Magnet Schools of America organization. In addition, they received a Merit Award from Magnet Schools of America for innovative practices. This was followed by national recognition as a demonstration magnet school, exceeding criteria. Johnson STEAM Academy was highlighted in a national case study by Successful Practices Network (SPN) and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, as one of 25 national Innovative Successful Practice schools. In 2019, Lynch was named as Iowa Elementary Principal of the Year and as a National Distinguished Principal representing the state of Iowa.

Candace deeply values the foundation of knowledge, possibilities, and lifelong friendships that she gained at Saint Mary’s. She attributes much of who she is to the love and support of her family including her husband, her three children and their families, her parents and siblings from whom she learned belief, faith, and a positive outlook on life.

Eligibility:

This award is presented to a degreed alumnus/a of SMUMN who has shown outstanding achievements in their chosen profession. The award reflects career achievements with particular focus on the Lasallian values of mentoring and making an impact on others. Nominate your Distinguished Alumnus/a Award nominee here.

The awardee must have achieved the following:

Personified professional excellence.
Played a role in community improvement.
Made a significant impact or recognition in their field.

Past Recipients:

Thomas J. Mulvaney B'59 – 1966	Rev. Paul Halloran B'49 – 1967	James Carroll B'53 – 1968
Dr. John Kearney B'55 – 1970	Dr. Hugo Keim B'56 – 1971	Dr. William Rock B'49 – 1972
Dr. John Sbarbaro B'58 – 1973	Gen. John Hennessey '42 – 1974	Judge C. Bernard Carey B'56 – 1975
Dr. John Hoffman B'51 – 1976	Dr. Robert Hoffman B'56 – 1976	Most Rev. George Speltz, DD B'32 – 1977
Judge Michael Bilandic B'47 – 1978	Dr. Joseph Kraft '43 – 1979	Br. Laurence Walther, FSC B'44 – 1981
John Parmer B'50 – 1982	Thomas Meagher B'53 – 1983	Bernard Semler B'38 – 1984
Dr. Lorin Nevling, Jr. B'52 – 1985	Eugene Figliulo B'46 – 1986	Thomas Barger '30 – 1987
Kenneth Wakefield B'42 – 1987	Thomas Johnston B'43 – 1988	Anthony J. Adducci B'59 – 1989
Edward M. Allen '50 – 1990	Carl Calabrese B'41 – 1991	Br. Leonard Courtney, FSC, Ph.D B'37 – 1992
John M. "Jack” Sharkey B'53 – 1993	Dr. Hugo C. Pribor B'49 – 1994	David B. Collins B'70 – 1995
George J. Murtaugh B'61 – 1996	John H. Ehlert B'67 – 1997	Dr. Jon J. Kabara B'48 – 1998
Br. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC, B'59 – 1999	Dr. Charles Giammona Jr. B'70 – 2000	Robert K. Hentzen B'57 – 2001
Robert H. Wheeler B'67 – 2002	Dr. Randall W.A. Davidson B'53 – 2003	Sen. Michael Johanns B'71 – 2004
Patrick A. Salvi B'75 – 2005	Phillip Corcoran B'76 – 2006	Charles Wolande B'76 – 2006
Joseph Ross B'67 – 2007	Edward Zabrocki B'63 – 2008	Justice Thomas Kilbride B'78 – 2009
Dr. Jane (Weydert) Homeyer B'86 – 2010	Dr. Donald Truhlar B'65 – 2011	Dr. Roger Lucas B'65 – 2012
Pablo Gaito M'06 – 2013	Holly Hall M'11 – 2013	Janeé Harteau B'03, M'06 – 2013
Scott Thomas M'05 – 2013	Kathy Wilde M'92 – 2013	Paul Meyer, J.D. B'64 – 2014
William G. Jungbauer B'75 – 2015	Merle Wilberding B’66 – 2016	Richard "Dick" Drogosz B'61 - 2017
Dr. Bobbie (Smith) Gostout CST'78, '83 - 2018	Jerome "Jerry" Colletti B'69 - 2019	Michael "Mike" Morsberger M'97 - 2019
Dr. Thomas "Tom" Clasen B'78 - 2021	Robert “Bob” Skemp ’49 - 2022	Hon. Judge George Stephenson B’80 - 2022
Paul P. Magallanes B'63 - 2023	Candace (Langan) Lynch B'83 - 2024