Senator Andy Nichols Honor Award

Awarded for those who have made outstanding contributions to public health through the development of good public health policy. The Senator Andy Nichols Award honors those who have made outstanding contributions to public health throughout their career. The award is primarily for contributions to public health in Arizona. It may be granted to any resident or former resident of Arizona who has made a significant contribution to public health elsewhere.

Dr. Nichols was a long-time professor of community medicine. He founded the University of Arizona’s Rural Health Office in 1970 and served in both the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives. He championed an array of legislation that elevate public health in our state. Such legislation included authoring a ballot measure that expanded AHCCCS health coverage. When he died in 2011, Governor Hull noted that he “was a man who truly left the world with more than he took.”

  • 1959 | Annie Wauneka

  • 1964 | George Marx

  • 1965 | Margaret Maleady

  • 1966 | S. F. Farnsworth

  • 1967 | Joseph Weinstein

  • 1968 | Elain McFarland; Neils Paulsen

  • 1969 | Pearl Tang

  • 1970 | Mary Caldwell

  • 1971 | Federick Brady

  • 1972 | Iva Harlin

  • 1974 | Raymond Kaufman

  • 1975 | Mary Copeland

  • 1976 | Melvin Goodwin

  • 1977 | Leroy Kochert

  • 1978 | Betty R. Ord

  • 1979 | Bailey Batiste

  • 1980 | Herbert Abrams

  • 1981 } Lois Anne Crist

  • 1982 | Hazel Bennett

  • 1983 | B. Harness

  • 1984 | Bernice Epstein

  • 1986 | Margaret Welch

  • 1987 | Representative Bart Baker; David Herman

  • 1990 | Patricia Moore

  • 1991 | Phil Lopes

  • 1992 | Sarah Kramer

  • 1993 | Wadie W. Kamel

  • 1994 | Jane Pearson

  • 1995 | Jack Dillenberg, DDS

  • 1996 | Jane Canby

  • 1997 | Sally Lewis

  • 1998 | Robert Alfick, MD, MSM, MPH

  • 1999 | Jane Lange

  • 2001 | Leland Fairbanks

  • 2002 | Jonathan B Weisbuch, MD, MPH

  • 2003 | Carol Kamin

  • 2004 | Keven Dresen, PhD

  • 2005 | Tim Flood, MD

  • 2006 | Charlotte Harrison

  • 2007 | Patricia VanMaanen, RN, MS

  • 2008 | Albert Brown, MPA

  • 2009 | Kathy Byrne

  • 2010 | Joel Meister, PhD

  • 2011 | Dean Brennan

  • 2012 | Roger Hughes

  • 2013 | Pete Wertheim

  • 2014 | WIll Humble

  • 2015 | Eddie Sissons

  • 2016 | Bob England, MD

  • 2017 | Tara Plese

  • 2018 | Susan Gerard & Jill de Zapien

  • 2019 | Dr. Lynn Gerald (see award photo)

  • 2020 | COVID-19 Pandemic: No Awards

  • 2021 | Michael Allison & Debbie McCune Davis

  • 2022 | Doug Campos-Outcalt, DO

  • 2023 | Theresa Cullen, MD

  • 2024 | Barbara Burkholder

Senator Andy Nichols Honor Award Winners