Alan Page (’78) Named Heisman Humanitarian Award Winner
The Heisman Trust has announced that Alan Page (’78), a former Minnesota Supreme Court justice and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will be honored with the 2016 Heisman Humanitarian Award. Page will be the 11th recipient of the award. He was selected, the trust said in a statement, in recognition of his “tireless efforts in assisting students of color achieve their dreams in furthering their education.”
Page was an All-America player on the University of Notre Dame’s 1966 national championship football team. He played defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings from 1967 to 1978 and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1971; he earned his J.D. from the Law School while playing for the Vikings. In 1985, after working for the Minneapolis law firm Lindquist & Vennum for several years, he was appointed a special assistant in the Minnesota attorney general’s office, and was soon promoted to assistant attorney general, a post he held until joining the state’s high court in 1992. He stepped down in 2015 after reaching the court’s mandatory retirement age of 70. In 1988, Page founded the Page Education Foundation, which assists students of color with postsecondary education in exchange for their commitment to spend time volunteering in the community. The foundation has awarded grants to more than 5,500 students, who in turn have provided more than 375,000 hours of volunteer service to young children.
“I doubt that it would have occurred to anyone when I was a student that I would have accomplished the things that I have,” Page said. “But the path that I have traveled is not a path exclusive to me. It is a path those of us who have been privileged by good fortune can make available to all young people without regard to their economic, social, or racial background. It is simply a matter of working to create hope and provide opportunity.”
Page will receive the Heisman Humanitarian Award at the 82nd Annual Heisman Memorial Trophy Gala, to be held Monday, December 12, in New York City.
