Wheeler Medal
Benjamin Ide Wheeler was an outstanding figure in the Berkeley community: active leader, statesman, and shaper of public opinion; accomplished scholar and distinguished University of California president who transformed the school from a small college into a world-renowned university.
Dr. Wheeler always thought in terms of value to human life, no matter what issue he tackled. He also fostered a close, supportive relationship between the campus and the community. He was so admired by the Service Clubs Council of Berkeley that, in 1929, it established an award in his name.
About the Award
The Wheeler Medal recognizes and honors an outstanding member of the Berkeley community who has provided years of distinguished service, in any field of activity, which has benefited the quality of life for a significant number of people in Berkeley. BCS assumed the responsibility of granting the award to “Berkeley’s Most Useful Citizen” in 1994.
Wheeler medalists remind us that Berkeley is filled with people who are committed to the greater good and who make the city such a unique place to live.
Prior Recipients
1929 William H. Waste
1931 August Vollmer
1933 Robert Gordon Sproul
1935 Chester R. Rowell
1937 William B. Herms
1939 Monroe E. Deutsch
1941 Louise Marks
1943 Lester W. Hink
1945 E.O. Lawrence
1947 Vere V. Loper
1949 Emery Stone
1951 Clarence A. Bullwinkel
1953 Galen M. Fisher
1955 Walter A. Gordon
1957 Lilly M. Whitaker
1959 Robert R. Porter
1961 Redmond C. Staats, Jr.
1963 Claude B. Hutchison
1965 Katherine Towle
1967 Wallace J.S. Johnson
1969 Roger W. Heyns
1971 Wilmont Sweeny
1973 Carol Sibley
1975 Thomas B. Shaw
1977 Sylvia C. McLaughlin
1979 Robert W. Ratcliff
1981 Paul E. Harberts
1983 Robert G. Eaneman
1985 Robert A. Rice
1987 Margaret S. Gordon
1989 Fred S. Stripp
1991 Mary Lee Jefferds
1994 Ira Michael Heyman
1995 Alba and Bernard Witkin
1996 John A. Martin, Jr.
1997 Chang-Lin Tien
1998 David R. Brower
1999 Marian Cleeves Diamond
2000 Thelton E. Henderson
2001 Jeffrey Shattuck Leiter
2002 Alice Waters
2003 Kent Nagano
2004 Arthur Rosenfeld, Ph.D.
2005 Davida Coady, M.D.
2006 Mal Warwick
2007 Robert Cole
2008 Helen and John Meyer
2009 Steven H. Oliver
2010 Denny Abrams and Richard Millikan
2011 Narsai M. David
2012 Susan Medak
2013 Wavy Gravy
2014 Arlene Blum – View Video of Arlene Blum, Ph.D.
2015 Archana Horsting – View Video of Archana Horsting
2016 Skip Battle – View Video of Skip Battle
2017 Dr. Vicki Alexander – View Video of Dr. Alexander
2018 Susan Muscarella – View Video of Susan Muscarella
2019 Frances Dinkelspiel, Lance Knobel and Tracey Taylor – View Video of Berkeleyside Co-Founders