Distinguished alumni

Drew ’72 & Jean Vogel Distinguished Service to Northwestern College

Drew and Jean (Tallman ’75) Vogel, recipients of the Distinguished Service to Northwestern College Award, attended Northwestern in the 1960s and ’70s. Drew attended for one year before earning a degree from Iowa State in 1973, and Jean majored in art education, graduating from Northwestern in 1975.

After college, the Vogels lived in Minneapolis and Denver before returning to Orange City, where Drew became president of Vogel Paint Inc. Generous with their time, they both have served as volunteers for numerous organizations in the community and region, including Northwestern College.

Drew was a member of Northwestern’s Board of Trustees from 1991 to 1999 and from 2001 to the present. He has been the board chair since 2003. He chaired the committee that led fundraising for the renovation of the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center, completed in 2004. He also chaired the search committee for the college’s eighth president, Dr. Bruce Murphy, and was a member of the search committee that recruited the current president, Greg Christy.

Jean served on the planning committee for President Christy’s inauguration last fall. She was also a member of Northwestern’s visual identity task force, which unveiled a new college word mark and logo in 2005. Jean also has served as a consultant for campus aesthetics, including the hanging of lights and wreaths and decorating of trees at Christmas.

Award year: 2009