December 7, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that former Central College baseball player Adam Duerfeldt (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) has been named the Duane Schroeder IIAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2005-06 academic year.

“The Iowa Conference is extremely proud to recognize Adam and Katie [Pederson] as this year’s recipients of the Duane Schroeder Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. For each of the past five years I’ve felt that the bar has been raised so high for this award that it could not possibly be reached the ensuing year; and every year I’m proved wrong,” Iowa Conference Commissioner John T. Cochrane said. “I firmly believe that our lives are ultimately defined by the impact we have on others, and there are simply not enough superlatives to describe the impact that these two young people have had on their fellow students, campuses, and communities. They represent the pursuit of excellence and achievement by anyone’s definition of those two words; and as Adam and Katie move on to pursue their career goals, couched within the context of service to others, suffice it to say that this world will be a better place than it otherwise might be.”

Duerfeldt graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2006 with a 3.88 grade point average as a chemistry major. He produced a senior honors project, Isolation and Purification of Substituted Calix[4]pyrroles, and was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Duerfeldt was a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America®, a three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree and was the 2006 Academic All-America® Player of the Year. He was awarded the Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship from the University of Kansas and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry to conduct cancer research. Recipients of the fellowship participate in professional development programs throughout the school year and attend a week-long public policy seminar in Washington, D.C. After four years, students become members of the Society of Self Fellows and upon receiving doctorate degrees, students are lifetime members of the Society.

“As a student, I feel that Mr. Duerfeldt has unlimited potential. He was easily in the top-10 percent of my organic chemistry class with respect to raw average. During class, he was also very curious and engaging. He was comfortable speaking out amidst his peers and was generally a leader in the class,” Central Assistant Professor of Chemistry James Shriver, who collaborated with Duerfeldt on his senior honors project, said. “After joining my research team, I had ample opportunity to observe his progress as a researcher. The one statement that comes to mind when describing Mr. Duerfeldt is that I wish he would have started with research a year earlier or more. He was extremely proactive in learning different techniques in the lab and quickly progressed.”

Duerfeldt helped initiate the formation of the Tim Heggen Foundation and identify direction of raised funding. The Foundation provides scholarships to first-year undergraduate students and donates money to cancer research. He also volunteered at the Christian Opportunities Center in Pella, participated in Best Buddies program and spent social time with disabled individuals.

“There is a lot more to Adam than just being a great athlete. He has the best work ethic and leadership ability of anyone I have ever coached. He has been a great influence on our younger players and we will be feeling Adam’s impact in our program for a long time,” Central baseball coach Adam Stevens said. “I feel that his contributions as a leader have had an even greater impact on our program. He leads by example and plays the game as hard as anyone I have ever seen. From the off-season to the regular season, Adam’s work ethic and leadership abilities are a major reason why we have been successful the last two years.”

A two-time All-Iowa Conference performer, the 2006 Conference Most Valuable Player and three-time Academic All-Conference honoree, Duerfeldt graduated holding 17 Central school records. He was a two-time American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Central Region selection and was the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-Central Region Position Player of the Year in 2006. A two-time captain and team Offensive Player of the Year, he led Central to a share of the Conference title in his senior season, its first baseball title since 1975, and a school record 26 wins.

The Duane Schroeder IIAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year Award was first presented in December 2001 for the 2000-01 academic year. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete shall have graduated or exhausted their athletic eligibility during the academic year for which the award is given. He must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership.

The Duane Schroeder IIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards are named in honor of the late Duane Schroeder, the former Wartburg College sports information director. Schroeder served as Wartburg’s SID for 43 years until his retirement in 2000. Upon his retirement from his sports information duties, he was named SID Emeritus and served as Wartburg’s News Director until 2001. During much of his four decades at Wartburg, Schroeder served as the IIAC’s secretary and treasurer.

Also nominated for the 2005-06 Duane Schroeder IIAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year were former Coe College tennis player Chris Paasch and former Wartburg College baseball player Brian Greiner.

Previous recipients of the Duane Schroeder IIAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year include Tim Vinyard (2000-01, Coe College football and baseball), Dale Biser (2001-02, Cornell College football and track), Jesse Harris (2002-03, Simpson College basketball), Brent Showalter (2003-04, Wartburg College track) and Garrett South (2004-05, Luther College wrestling).

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