March 3, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Former Irish women’s basketball player Dr. Carol Lally Shields (’79) will be inducted into the Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Lally Shields will become the sixth former Notre Dame student-athlete to be inducted into the Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame.
Lally Shields will join four other inductees as members of the Class of 2011. Since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 1988, 112 individuals have been selected for the honor. She will be inducted on June 28, 2011, at CoSIDA’s annual workshop in Marco Island, Fla.
The other four inductees this year include Wabash College basketball player Peter Metzelaars (’82), track and field star Dr. Randall Pinkett from Rutgers University (’94), women’s volleyball standout Dr. Julie Bremner Romias (’94) of UCLA and NCAA champion diver Dr. Megan Neyer (’86) from the University of Florida.
Lally Shields becomes the first former Notre Dame female student-athlete to be inducted into the Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame. The other Irish inductees have been former football players Bob Burger (a 2006 inductee), Robert Thomas (a 1996 inductee), Dave Casper (a 1993 inductee) and Joe Theismann (a 1990 inductee) as well as basketball standout John Paxson (a 2005 inductee).
Lally Shields is being inducted as honorary member in ’11. Annually, the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame and CoSIDA honor a worthy candidate whose collegiate career preceded the program in their particular sport. The eligible candidate’s academic and athletic achievements must meet minimum criteria for selection to the Academic All-America®.
As a senior in 1979, she became the first woman at Notre Dame to receive the Byron Kanaley Award, which is presented annually to senior student-athletes for excellence in athletics, academics and leadership. It is the highest honor bestowed to a student-athlete at the University.
As a junior, she led the Irish in scoring at 10.7 points per game in the first year of the varsity program at Notre Dame and averaged 12.8 points per game during her senior campaign. Lally Shields was the team’s most valuable player in 1978-79 and also was the winner of the ’79 Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete award for excellence in academics and athletics after earning Dean’s List recognition all eight semesters.
Lally Shields served as team captain in her senior season and graduated with a 3.91 cumulative grade-point average with a degree in pre-professional studies from the College of Science. Following graduation, she went on to earn her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School.
A world-renowned ophthalmologist, Lally Shields was presented an honorary doctorate of science degree from Notre Dame in 2005. She currently is an Ocular Oncologist at the Wills Eye Institute, America’s first eye hospital located in Philadelphia, Pa. Throughout her professional career, Lally Shields has been the recipient of numerous awards, including The Retina Research Award of the Retina Society in 2006 that honors and supports an active researcher in the field of retinal disease. The Philadelphia Magazine has recognized Lally Shields as a top doctor in Philadelphia annually since 1994. She was first woman recipient of the Donders Award given annually to an ophthalmologist of international acclaim by the Netherlands Ophthalmological Society. Lally Shields has been a member of the American Medical Association since 1980 and part of the American Academy of Ophthalmology since 1984. She is a member of 18 different associations and boards and has helped organize an annual Easter Egg hunt for more than 500 children since 1995.
In 2006, Lally Shields became the first woman to receive the Moose Krause Distinguished Service Award presented by the Notre Dame Monogram Club and given to active club members who are distinguished in their profession, demonstrate responsibility to and concern for the community, and display an outstanding dedication to the spirit and ideals of Notre Dame.
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