L. Gene and Cathie Lemon received a Distinguished Honorary Alumni Award from Professor and Head, Wendy Heller, at the department's annual awards program on Saturday, May 14. 2016.

L. Gene and Cathie Lemon, with Cathie's brother Lyle Lanier Jr., established the Lyle H. Lanier Fund in Psychology in memory of Cathie and Lyle's father, head of the Department of Psychology (1951-1959); Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (1959-1960); and Provost of the Champaign-Urbana campus (1960-1972). In honor of his many contributions, the Department uses the funds annually for the Lanier Lecture Series that brings a distinguished psychologist to campus whose work is of interest to the general campus and local community.

Cathie attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed her B.A. in French from Salem College and a M.A. in Art History from Arizona State University. She spent her career with the Phoenix Art Museum.

Gene received a B.S. in Agriculture, Consumer & Environmental Sciences and a J.D. from the College of Law at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He served in executive roles and as general counsel for several major corporations during his career. Gene and Cathie are lifetime members of the University of Illinois Presidents Council, and Cathie has served on Psychology's Alumni Advisory Board since 2008.