Distinguished Alumni Award
Dorothy Kaplan Light 59BA, 61JD
Dorothy Kaplan Light, 59BA, 61JD, one of only two women in her 1961 UI College of Law gradating class, has achieved impressive success in her legal career.
As vice president and corporate secretary for the Prudential Insurance Company of America in Newark, New Jersey, Light has reached a position thought unattainable by women in the law in 1961. She joined Prudential's property and casualty subsidiary in 1974 as assistant general counsel and played a key role in the company as director of public affairs and vice president for government affairs at a critical time of auto insurance reform in New Jersey.
In her role as vice president and corporate secretary for the largest insurance company in the United States, Light reports directly to Prudential's chairman and chief executive officer. She coordinates activities for the 23-member board of the multibillion dollar corporation and is responsible for policyholder elections and the company's conflict of interest program. Light also chairs the Prudential foundation, which oversees the corporation's philanthropic pursuits through a $200 million social investment program and grants to not-for-profit community organizations totaling nearly $18 million annually.
A former attorney with the US Army, the Alden native has been admitted to the Iowa bar, the New Jersey Bar, and the US Supreme Court. Light serves on the board of directors of the New Jersey Resources Corporation and is a member of the National Advisory Board of Leadership America. In addition, she is a trustee for the New Jersey Center for Analysis of Public Issues in Princeton and the Atlantic Legal Foundation, Inc. Light was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Georgian Court College in Lakewood, New Jersey, in April 1991.
A member of the transition team of New Jersey Governor-elect Christine Whitman, Light serves on Governor Whitman's Economic Master Plan Commission and is a former chair of the commission's Urban Economic Development Task Force.
Light and her husband, Ernest Light, 61DDS, 66MS, are members of the UI Alumni Association's Old Capitol 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.