UIndy’s Sondhaus Named 2019 GLVC Dr. Thomas Kearns Service Award Recipient
INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) has named Dr. Lawrence Sondhaus of the University of Indianapolis as this year’s recipient of the Dr. Thomas Kearns Service Award, it was announced Thursday by the Conference office. He will be formally recognized at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car GLVC Spring Awards Reception in St. Louis on Tuesday, May 21.
The Dr. Thomas Kearns Service Award is presented to an individual or group that has contributed to the success of the GLVC as it relates to the NCAA Division II attributes of learning, balance, resourcefulness, sportsmanship, passion and service.
Dr. Sondhaus serves as the school’s Faculty Athletic Representative and has played an integral role in coordinating Conference scheduling for all sports since 2012.
During this time, the Conference has seen a fluctuation in league membership, which significantly impacts sport schedules. Dr. Sondhaus has not only been dedicated to the creation of the initial schedule drafts, but also the countless revisions needed to address issues or concerns from the membership. In an effort to find common ground with ongoing membership changes in recent years, Dr. Sondhaus created the current “wheel” rotation scheduling model that has been applied across all core sports.
In addition to his efforts with scheduling, Dr. Sondhaus played an integral role in the development of men’s lacrosse as the league’s 22nd sport, and was instrumental in bringing together the “Southern Four” comprised of University of Alabama Huntsville, University of Montevallo, Shorter University, and Young Harris College as associate members for the sport.
Dr. Sondhaus has served a pair of two-year terms as the chairperson of the GLVC and has resided on both the GLVC Expansion Committee and GLVC Membership Task Force.
Dr. Sondhaus has been a professor of history at UIndy since 1987 and served as chair of the UIndy History and Political Science department from 2000-15. He specializes in naval and military history, and has authored 13 books. Recently he was awarded an endowed professorship and now holds the title of the Gerald and Marjorie Morgan Professor of European History.
The St. Louis, Missouri native earned his bachelor’s degree from Elon University in 1980, his master’s from the University of Virginia in 1982, and his doctorate from UVa in 1986.
The GLVC Service Award is named in honor of Dr. Thomas Kearns, who was Northern Kentucky’s faculty athletic representative for 23 years and provided unparalleled service to the GLVC during that period. Kearns served the GLVC as both treasurer and president during his tenure at NKU and assisted with the budget reporting system and the current revenue sharing policy. He spearheaded the league’s first major expansion, wrote the GLVC Hall of Fame guidelines, served on the initial GLVC Awards Committee and developed and maintained the GLVC Handbook. Kearns spent countless hours developing the GLVC into one of the premier NCAA Division II athletic conferences.
The award was first presented in 2011 to Northern Kentucky’s Kevin Listerman, and has since been awarded to SIU Edwardsville’s Eric Hess (2012), USI’s David and Lois Stevens (2013), Kentucky Wesleyan’s Roy Pickerill (2014), USI’s Ray and Cindy Bippus (2015), Doug McCarty and Dan Cunningham (2016) of the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Illinois, Saint Joseph’s College’s Bill and Teresa Massoels (2017), and Missouri S&T’s John Kean (2018).
