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Home Distinguished Alumni Awards Distinguished Alumni Award Winner

Distinguished Alumni Award

Martin G. Carver 70BA

2002 Achievement Award

Martin G. Carver, 70BA, chairman, president, and CEO of Bandag, Incorporated, has steered his family's Muscatine, Iowa-based company to the forefront of the international tire management industry, while never losing sight of the fact that business is about people.

The youngest son of successful Iowa entrepreneur Roy J. Carver, Martin Carver has employed a highly effective personal approach to managing the company that his father founded. Among other things, he has instituted a corporate culture that motivates Bandag employees and franchisees to work together in teams to accomplish company goals.

An avid motorsports enthusiast, Carver set a world land speed record for diesel trucks in 1988. He was clocked at 151 miles per hour while driving the "Bandag Bandit" truck-equipped with Bandag retreads-at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Carver did this to demonstrate the quality of Bandag products, which are manufactured using state-of-the-art technology that retreads worn truck tires to maximize their service life.

Bandag's success is proven even off the racetrack. The company achieved Fortune 500 stature in 1991 and 1992. In addition, Carver was named 1986 CEO of the Year in the rubber and plastics industry by Financial World magazine. In 1989, Financial World also honored Carver as the CEO of the Decade in a broader category for the chemicals industry.

Though he is a global business executive, Carver is a true Iowa son at heart. The UI mathematics major has not lost touch with the place that started him on the road to achievement. For more than a decade, Bandag has funded an annual basketball camp for youngsters in Muscatine, and in recognition of this commitment, the University of Iowa Athletics Department designated Carver as an honorary UI men's basketball coach.

Carver also makes time for community involvements that include serving on the board of directors of the National Civility Center, a community-building organization based in Muscatine. He is a member of the Aspen Institute's Society of Fellows, and he has been a director and chairman of the board of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.

A big fan of the University of Iowa, Carver also supports UI athletics and Hancher Auditorium. A member of the Board of Visitors of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, he also served on the Iowa Endowment 2000 Campaign.

These and other accomplishments clearly demonstrate that Carver has been a driving force for positive change in the business world, in his hometown, and in the University of Iowa community.

Carver is a lifetime member of the University of Iowa Alumni Association and a member of the UI Foundation's Presidents Club.

About Distinguished Alumni Awards

Since 1963, the University of Iowa has annually recognized accomplished alumni and friends with Distinguished Alumni Awards. Awards are presented in seven categories: Achievement, Service, Hickerson Recognition, Faculty, Staff, Recent Graduate, and Friend of the University.

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Top 10 Iowa Magazine Stories of 2018

With the start of a new year upon us, it's time to look back at your favorite University of Iowa stories from 2018. Here are Iowa Magazine's top 10 most-read articles of the year: The Nomadic Life (spring 2018) Hawkeye football favorite Paki O'Meara (10BA) finds ultimate freedom in backpacking around the world, taking photos that inspire a sense of wonder. PHOTO COURTESY PAKI O'MEARA Kinnick at 100 (summer 2018) This past summer marked two historically significant dates for Hawkeye fans: the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nile Kinnick (40BA), and the 75th anniversary of his tragic death. In memory of Iowa's favorite son, scholar, and Ironman, we look back on his life and legacy. Ahead of the Game (spring 2018) The Iowa football team becomes the first in the nation to equip the majority of its players with a state-of-the-art new helmet designed to improve player safety. PHOTO: MARK STASTNY Hollywood U (fall 2018) Alumni success in TV and film shines the spotlight on Iowa's? flourishing screenwriting program. ILLUSTRATION: FABIEN GILBERT / ARTISTIQUE INTERNATIONAL Mountain Roots (spring 2018) Nearly 80 years ago, an unlikely UI mountain-climbing club emerged from the cornfields of Iowa to become one of the most active in the world. Now the next generation of outdoorsmen continue in their Hawkeye family's footsteps. PHOTO COURTESY EBERT FAMILY The Secrets of Sleep (fall 2018) UI doctors and researchers work to shine light on the third of our lives we spend in the dark. Illustration: John Emigh Fry's Dream Team (fall 2018) FRYFest honors Hayden Fry's legendary 1983 coaching tree. PHOTO: UI ATHLETICS Going the Distance (spring 2018) UI-trained dentist Deb Carneol (92DDS) completes seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. PHOTO: MARK CONLON/WORLDMARATHONCHALLENGE.COM At 105, Our Oldest Hawkeye? (spring 2018) Catherine Shaw Shors (35BSC), who earned her business degree from Iowa more than eight decades ago, celebrated a milestone birthday in May. 1936 HAWKEYE YEARBOOK A Heroic Homecoming (spring 2018) Avengers: Infinity War director Joe Russo (92BA) receives a superhero's welcome at his alma mater. PHOTOS: Justin Torner

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