Distinguished Award

We are defined both by our words and by our actions. Through her scholarly and community activities, Liane Ellison Norman ’59 has worked to understand and pursue peace and justice in many forms.

After graduating from Grinnell, Norman went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. in English and American literature from Brandeis University. She taught English in schools ranging from Pittsburgh to Kathmandu.

She has written movingly on issues of civil disobedience, including an award-winning book, Hammer of Justice: Molly Rush and the Plowshares Eight. She has also helped support civil disobedience by training 50 Teamsters to use nonviolence during a strike against Pittsburgh’s daily newspapers.

In 1984, Norman founded the Pittsburgh Peace Institute. The organization developed and implemented school curricula on the prevention of violence and elimination of prejudice for 19 Pittsburgh-area school districts. In 1992, she earned a President’s Medal for her work with Veterans for Peace.

She has been a leader in a range of organizations promoting peace and justice. She has served as delegate to the Helsinki Citizens Assembly and co-chaired the board of directors of the Exploratory Project on the Conditions of Peace. She also has been on the board of directors for the Pittsburgh chapter of the ACLU.

For her lifelong work to support to peace and justice here and abroad, Grinnell is pleased to recognize Liane Ellison Norman ’59.