Distinguished Alumni Award

Deborah Fuller

Class of 1987

Deborah Heydenburg Fuller graduated from Hope College in 1987. She studied biology, Spanish and math. In 2001, she received a doctorate of philosophy in Cellular and Molecular Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently a professor of microbiology at the University of Washington, the division chief of Infectious Diseases and Translational Medicine at the Washington National Primate Research Center, and co-founder and chief technology officer of Orlance, Inc. Deborah lives in Bainbridge Island, Washington, with her husband, Jim, and their two sons.

Lara MacGregor

Class of 1998

Lara Plewka ’98 MacGregor founded Hope Scarves in 2012, an international non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for translational research. The Hope Scarves Metastatic Breast Cancer Research Fund was established in Lara’s honor in 2015. Hope Scarves designates a portion of each dollar for metastatic breast cancer research. MacGregor resides in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Jason, and their two sons.

Dr. Elton Bruins

Class of 1950

Dr. Elton Bruins ’50 has served the Hope College and Holland community as a professor, pastor, author, researcher and the founding director of the Van Raalte Institute. Elton received his Masters of Sacred Theology from Union Theological Seminary and Doctor of Philosophy from New York University.

Craig Morford

Class of 1981

Craig Morford ’81 received his Juris Doctor degree from Valparaiso University and went on to spend much of his career as a celebrated attorney in the government sector. Craig served as the acting deputy attorney general for the United States, a presidential appointment, from 2007–2008. He is currently the deputy general consul at ExxonMobil Corporation.

The Alumni Association selects recipients for this award from nominations that meet the following criteria:

• Contributions to society through volunteerism
• Achievements within a profession
• Active involvement with the college
• Have earned at least 45 credit hours at Hope College
• Nominees for this award are eligible to be nominated for other awards
• Current members of the Alumni Board and the Hope College Board of Trustees are not eligible for this award