Alumni Achievement Award

honors alumni who have demonstrated outstanding achievementin their chosen career or area of professional life.

Name:  John Hoehner
Major: Political Science
Home: Sierra Madre, California
Employer: Jacobs Engineering Group
Job Title: Vice President and Director of Global Litigation

John Hoehner '68, '74 J.D. earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from Valparaiso University where he was a member of the Delta Theta Phi Law fraternity. For eight years he worked with the Porter County (Ind.) Public Defender's Office and achieved the title of chief deputy. He then went on to serve as an assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of Indiana and earned the rank of criminal division chief and, later, the title of first assistant United States attorney. In 1991 he was appointed to the post of U.S. attorney by President George H. W. Bush and served a two-year term. Returning to Valparaiso, Hoehner practiced law and chaired the mayor's special committee on ethics in 1994. Later that year, he accepted a litigation management position with Sverdrup Corp. In 1999, Hoehner joined Jacobs Engineering Group and now serves as its vice president and director of global litigation and manages in-house counsel. His commitment to Valparaiso University is demonstrated by serving as an adjunct professor of law and member of the School of Law's National Council, as well as the VU School of Law's St. Louis Council. In 2000 his family established an endowment in the names of his parents, William and Jane Hoehner, to provide financial assistance to VU School of Law students.