2008 INSIGNIS AWARD: Presented to Roy Simperman by Carroll President Tom Trebon


Mr. Roy Simperman of Mercer Island, Wash., class of 1962, is chairman and CEO of Semaphore Corporation. In addition to his bachelor's in mathematics from Carroll College, he holds a master's in physics from the University of Nebraska and an M.B.A. from the University of Washington. He is a former physicist for the Boeing Company and enjoyed success at Weyerhaeuser, where he built a large simulation to analyze the forestry program and managed the largest entity of its kind in the world at the time. In 1993, when most people had not ever ventured onto the World Wide Web, his stock photography company became the world's first to sell images on the Internet. That all led to his career at Semaphore, which designs, maintains and manages secure private networks.

Mr. Simperman's long history of partnership with Carroll College is a testament to his commitment to advancing science, including medicine, nursing and research. This commitment is embodied in an array of his gifts to Carroll, including his support of the campaign to modernize the college's Old Science Hall, which today bears his name. With the same commitment, he recently provided the final gift needed to conclude the Nursing Department's renovations. Our Nursing Department facility is widely respected as one of the most advanced of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. It is the training ground for our nursing students who today are working in the best hospitals in the nation.

Roy Simperman is passionately committed to the healing arts.  For many years, he enhanced the annual Elsie Pauly Corette Scholarship for Carroll students from Montana who are pursuing pre-medical studies to assure that the scholarship funded deserving students.  Mr. John E. Corette established the Corette Scholarship along with his daughter Diane Corette Simperman and her three siblings in memory of his wife and their mother.  Diane passed away in 2000 after serving on Carroll's board of trustees and the Corette Scholarship Committee for many years.

Mr. Simperman's leadership in the Centennial Campaign includes a $1.5 million bequest in his estate, which will keep the Corette scholarship alive in perpetuity.  Additionally, he has established an endowed academic position in physics named in honor of Bill Lannan, a long-time friend, retired Carroll professor and golf coach. Mr. Simperman has also established a scholarship focused at retaining math and science students. In addition to his philanthropy for his alma mater, he has, personally and through the Simperman-Corette Foundation, provided extraordinary support to education and community organizations.