Dr. Harold Bardo Named 2016 Paul Morrison Award recipient
02/04/2016 | 12:00:00 | General
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner Doug Elgin announced today that Dr. Harold Bardo – former Faculty Athletics Representative at Southern Illinois University – has been selected as the 2016 recipient of the Paul Morrison Award.
Part of the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, the Morrison Award is presented to honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to their respective league-member institutions, The Valley or collegiate athletics, in general.
The presentation of the award will take place during the Presidents Hall of Fame Breakfast at Peabody Opera House in downtown St. Louis on Friday, March 4, that begins at 8 a.m.
"Dr. Harold Bardo has made a big difference over his nearly 50 years of involvement at his institution, as an educator, a role model and a mentor to many people," said Commissioner Doug Elgin. "He cares very deeply about the students and the student-athletes he has served. Dr. Bardo has contributed to his alma mater in so many ways – in academics and in athletics – and his name will forever be synonymous with Southern Illinois University."
The league began presenting the award in 1997, when Drake University historian and consultant Paul Morrison, for whom the award is named, became the first recipient. Since that first year, Dr. Lee Bevilacqua of Creighton (1998), Glen McCullough of Bradley (1999), John Sanders of the MVC staff (2004), Roland Banks of Wichita State (2006), Mark Stillwell of Missouri State (2008), Jimmy Wright of Missouri State (2009), Fred Huff of Southern Illinois (2010), Nancy Stefani of Drake (2013) and Dr. Martin Perline of Wichita State (2014) have been so honored.
Dr. Harold Bardo retired in 2014 as faculty representative for athletics at Southern Illinois after 17 years of service. He served as interim director of athletics on multiple occasions, was involved on numerous university search committees for SIU and has been part of the table crew for men's basketball since 1973. Bardo was an appointee to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Amateurism Cabinet and the NCAA Division I Leadership Council, where he served as the council's liaison to the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and also served on the Missouri Valley Conference finance committee, in addition to other roles involving college athletics and professional organizations.
Bardo became an instructor at Southern Illinois in educational psychology in 1968. In 1985 Bardo joined the School of Medicine faculty and became director of the SIU School of Medicine's Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP). He has demonstrated his commitment to young people and the community over the past half-century through his volunteerism and work with schools, health care organizations, athletics and academia.
In addition to serving as a faculty member and campus leader, Bardo served as acting associate dean for fiscal affairs in the College of Education. He also served as assistant dean for Minority Affairs and Counseling in the School of Medicine and also as the Associate Chairperson for Medical Education in Carbondale.
A life member of the SIU Alumni Association, Bardo was honored for his decades of service through the establishment of the Harold Bardo Medical Student Scholarship Endowment. Bardo also worked with university and community leaders to raise money for scholarships during the Project Hope and Opportunity campaign. He received the university's Lindell W. Sturgis Memorial Public Service Award in 2014.
A native of Sparta, Ill., Bardo is a triple alumnus of the Southern Illinois University education system. He received his bachelor's degree in history from SIU Carbondale in 1962, while also competing as both a basketball and track and field athlete. He earned his master's degree in education in 1969 at SIU Edwardsville, before returing to Carbondale to receive his doctorate, also in education, in 1972.
Tickets to the Presidents Hall of Fame Breakfast are $45 per person. For information on how to attend the event, please contact Carla Fight of the Missouri Valley Conference staff at (314) 444-4300.
