Awards

Leanne Grotke Award (2016)

School of Public Health Anita Aldrich Distinguished Alumni Award (2014)

About Kathleen Cordes

Kathleen Cordes received the Anita Aldrich Distinguished Alumni Award. This award is presented to graduates who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in professional excellence, service to the community and loyalty to Indiana University relative to the advancement of girls and women. Recipients have made a significant difference in the lives of girls and women relative to participation in sports and fitness activities as well as the pursuit of healthy lifestyles.

Professor Emeritus Kathleen Cordes directly served as a college/university professor, chair, coach, and director. For her teaching, leadership, and administrative efforts, Cordes is a recipient of the national, district, and state American Alliance of Health, Physical Education Recreation and Dance Honor Awards. For her authorship of textbooks and other work in recreation, she received the national and state awards for Distinguished Service to Recreation and was elected American Leisure Academy Senior Fellow. During her career, Ms. Cordes was one of the first female directors of men and women's athletics in the country; the first female varsity coach at the University of Notre Dame; and the first athletic director of Saint Mary's College.

Among her many duties as an executive director in Reston, Virginia for the American Association for Leisure and Recreation, Ms. Cordes worked with the White House on America's trails. She has been a pioneer in women’s athletic administration and coaching, earning multiple honors and awards including Lifetime Achievement from the President’s Council for Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and Indiana University’s Anita Aldrich Distinguished Alumnae Award.