Brother Leo Ryan, CSV awarded honors on national and international business stages

Waukon native Brother Leo V. Ryan, CSV has been the recipient of three international and national honors since July 2012. Brother Ryan is the son of the late John and Mary Ryan and the brother of Liz Hart of Waukon.
In July 2012, the International Society for Business Ethics and Economics (ISBEE) at its 5th World Congress Meeting in Warsaw, Poland conferred on Brother Ryan the honor of “World Voice for Business Ethics,” a newly established honor for this World Congress. Five such honors were awarded, one each to academic scholars in Belgium, Poland and Switzerland and two to U.S. educators, Professor Richard de George from the University of Kansas and Brother Ryan of DePaul University. The award was presented at the final banquet in the Royal Palace in Warsaw  hosted by the Mayor of Warsaw.
Brother Ryan was also honored for his ethical curriculum initiatives at Marquette, Notre Dame and DePaul Universities, for his leadership introducing ethics education in  post-Soviet Poland at Adam Michiewicz University and the Poznan University of Economics, both in Poznan, Poland. He was at the founding meeting of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) in Brussels in 1947.
He was National President of the Catholic Business Education Society and of the Society of Business Ethics (US/Canada). In 1993 the State Department awarded Brother Ryan a three-year Fulbright Fellowship to introduce the first American-designed  college business degree program in Poland, including Ethics.
In 1997 he co-authored the first ethics text in Polish. Collaborating with Professor Wojciech Gasparski of the Polish Institute of Science, they organized lectures and research in various Polish universities and eventually developed a cadre of 90 Polish Professors of Applied Ethics. In 1980 the Polish government decorated  Brother Ryan, awarding him their Medal of Merit for his “contribution to the educational and cultural development of Poland.”
In October 2012, Beta Gamma Sigma, the national honor society of the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), at the launch of their Centennial Year recognized Brother Ryan's contributions by awarding him the life title of  Governor Emeritus. He played many roles in both organizations, including being the National Chairman for the 75th Anniversary of Beta Gamma Sigma. Their December newsletter did a feature photo story of Brother Ryan with the fraternity mascot at Shwedagon Pagoda in Old Rangoon. He will be recognized at the annual Dean's meeting honoring the Centennial of Beta Gamma Sigma at the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago April 18 of this year.
Alpha Kappa Psi, national business fraternity headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, has established a new award “Career Achievement Award” and has named Brother Ryan among its first awardees. The fraternity magazine, "The Diary," in its current Winter edition includes a three-page feature article on Brother Ryan. The award citation concludes with "Brother Ryan's lifelong pursuit  of knowledge, education and service to others while adhering to the strictest code of ethics is a humbling example to all of us and we are honored to present the Career Achievement Award to him.”
The award will be presented February 16 at the concluding banquet for the Professional Business Leadership Institute at the Palmer House in Chicago, IL. The fraternity has previously honored Brother Leo with its Bronze Distinguished Service Award (1949), the Silver Distinguished Service Award (1958), and the Recognition Medal and Certificate. He was initiated into the fraternity at Marquette in 1944 and has serviced as Chapter Advisor, District Regional Director, and for 18 years on the Board of Directors of the Fraternity Foundation, including two four-year terms as Vice President.
Brother Leo may be best known to Standard readers for his many travel articles over the years and for his Allamakee County Discontinued Post office (DPO) research articles reprinted from the Iowa Postal History Society Bulletin. A series of articles on his travels this past year in southeast Asia and the Middle East is currently being published within The Standard.