The Alumni Trailblazer Award award is bestowed when merited and honors alumni who personify IMSA's philosophy statement that there will be alumni who "create new intellectual worlds, cure a dreaded human ailment or in some other way significantly influence life on our planet." The outstanding achievements of these honorees will have earned national or international prominence for a groundbreaking or sweeping initiative that has redefined and improved the way significant numbers of citizens live, learn or work.