Awards

IU Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award - 1998

About John L. Price

John L. Price was born in 1937, as the United States was just beginning to surface from the depths of the Depression and the second World War was brewing. He was raised in Michigan City, Indiana, where he graduated from Michigan City High School. After high school, Price attended Ball State University, where he earned B.S. and M.A. degrees in Sociology.

Price married in 1960. He and his spouse, Julia, moved to South Bend, where they both secured teaching jobs. In 1962, the couple adventurously applied for and got teaching jobs in Clark's Point, Alaska, a tiny, isolated Yup'ik Eskimo village on the Bering Sea. For two years, he and Julia taught eight grades in the schoolhouse in which they also lived. In 1964, the couple moved back to Indiana and Price began law school at Indiana University of Law. He graduated in 1968 and began practicing law with Merrill Moores.

In 1981, Price was appointed to the bench as a judge. During his time on the bench, he also served as a Master Commissioner for 6 years. He stayed on the bench serving justice for 24 years before retiring, after which he continued to work as a Senior Judge in the Marion County Superior Courts. In addition, he taught criminal justice education and sociology at IUPUI and global issues at the University of Indianapolis as well as chaired many law related seminars at local, state and government levels.

Price served on the faculty of the Indiana Judicial Center, and the National Judicial College. He received several notable awards for teaching during his career, including the Indiana Bar Association's John Morton Finney Excellence in Education; and the Indiana Judges' Association Award for Excellence in Public Information and Education. Price valued his community and was actively involved in numerous civic affairs, including Downtown Kiwanis; Northwest Kiwanis; Indianapolis Kiwanis Foundation; Indianapolis Lawyers Commission; Indiana Legal Services Organization; Second Presbyterian Church; Child Advocates of Indiana; Sitka, Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp #1; and Indiana University School of Law Alumni Association.

After retiring, Price returned to Alaska to teach at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka for two years while also serving on their Board of Directors.