In early December, during its annual President's Appreciation Dinner, Elmhurst College honored two people who have made a significant impact on the College: Barbara W. Swords, professor emerita of English, and Abner S. Ganet, trustee emeritus, were presented with the college's Founders Medals during ceremonies in Glen Ellyn.

The Founders Medal recognizes individuals who have unique relationships with the college in the areas of personal commitment, involvement and service. It is among the highest honors awarded by the institution.

Swords began teaching English at the College in 1952, retired in 1989, and was appointed professor emerita in 1996. Her husband, the late Robert Swords, was also appointed professor emeritus. Loved by her students, Barbara was revered as bright, witty and patient, and as someone who allowed her students to have fun in class. She continues to support numerous programs for English majors and, in 2006, established the Robert Swords Memorial Fund. 

Ganet has spent much of his life serving Elmhurst College. Elected a trustee in 1976, he established the Abner S. Ganet Scholarship for Urban Studies and, along with Alan and Joy Baltz, the Julia P. House Endowed Scholarship, honoring his late sister-in-law. Encouraged by Nobel Peace Prize-winner Elie Wiesel to share his Holocaust story, Ganet, whose Army unit liberated Wiesel and other concentration camp prisoners at the end of World War II, regularly speaks to area churches, schools and organizations, donating all funds received to the College.