Awards

Chancellor and Provost Medallion - 2003

IU Southeast Chancellor's Medallion

New Albany, Indiana

Presenter: Sandra R. Patterson-Randles

About Elmer L. Hoehn

Elmer L. Hoehn has had a long career serving the community of Clark County, IN. He earned his MBA from Northwestern University and his J.D. from Brandeis University. He began teaching at Jeffersonville High School in the late 1930s and at Indiana University-Southeast in 1941-42, but later switched over to the Jeffboat shipbuilding company during World War II. After the war, Hoehn became involved in local politics, representing Jeffersonville for two terms in the Indiana General Assembly as a state representative from 1945 to 1949. He was chosen as the principal clerk during his second term. He was appointed by Governor Henry Schricker to the director of Indiana Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas in 1949.

After his time in the state government, Hoehn became an attorney for Indiana Landowners and Oil Producers in Evansville, IN. He served as the chairman of Clark County Democratic Party and its congressional district, which led him to become President Lyndon B. Johnson's Midwest campaign manager in the 1964 presidential election. He served President Johnson as the Federal Administrator of the United States, Oil Import Administration in Washington, D.C. He stayed in the D.C. area for decades, working as a private practice lawyer for various oil companies before moving back to Clark County in recent years.

During his time in Clark County, Hoehn has remained an active volunteer. Even in his 90s, he is very involved in the Ohio River Greenway Project, an ongoing effort to protect and enhance the history of the local community. In addition, Hoehn has been active in Clark County Redevelopment Commission, Charlestown Ammunition INAAP Reuse Authority and he is the benefactor for the General George Rogers Clark homestead cabin in Clarksville, IN. In 2003, Indiana University-Southeast awarded him the Chancellor's Medallion for his longtime service to the community. He was recently recognized by the Indiana State Senate as the oldest living former member of the Indiana General Assembly in 2011 at the age of 95.