Lissa Yogan Named Aida Tomeh Distinguished Service Award Award Recipient

Lissa VanBebber ’82 Yogan, Ph.D., professor of sociology and criminology and associate provost for faculty affairs has been posthumously awarded the Aida Tomeh Distinguished Service Award by the North Central Sociological Association (NCSA). The award recognizes an NCSA member who has served the organization in multiple capacities throughout their professional career. In addition to being named the 2025 award recipient, the NCSA has also decided to rename the honor the Tomeh-Yogan Distinguished Service Award. 

“Professor Yogan encouraged us to not just focus on the problems, but to think about the understanding that our discipline provides for addressing those same problems,” said one of her nominators. “She encouraged us to be more hopeful and positive, traits that embodied everything she did.”

Professor Yogan was an active member of the NCSA since 2004, and served in several positions of leadership, including chair of the teaching section, vice president and president of the organization. In addition to her exemplary service within the program, Professor Yogan acted as an external program reviewer for institutions such as Ball State UUniversity and an organizer and presenter for the High School Teachers of Sociology workshop at the American Sociological Association and NCSA.

The award was originally named for Aida Tomah, a faculty member at Bowling Green State University and NCSA leader until her untimely passing in 1984 after a long battle with illness. Due to their similar careers and contributions to the organization, the proposal to rename the award was met with unanimous approval by the NCSA Council.

Professor Yogan’s history as a member of the Valpo family began with her earning a bachelor of arts in international economics and cultural affairs from Valpo in 1982. She first returned to campus as a member of the faculty in the fall of 1995 as a visiting assistant professor of sociology and then on a full time basis in 1997 as an assistant professor of sociology and criminology. She would earn full professorship in sociology and criminology in 2019, and would also serve as the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2018 to 2020. In August of 2020, she took on the role of  assistant provost for academic affairs, and was named associate provost in October of 2021. 

For more on Professor Yogan’s distinguished career and accomplishments, click here. For more on the Tomeh-Yogan Distinguished Service Award, click here.