In 1926, Professor Garrett P. Wyckoff (’94) was awarded the Order of the White Lion (čtvrtý třídy, or 4th degree, meaning he was made an “officer” in that order).  The order, which represented Czechoslovakia’s highest civilian honor, was created after World War I to recognize those civilians, particularly foreigners, who had performed extraordinary service to the country. Professor Wyckoff, who taught at Grinnell for a number of years in various departments (including Applied Christianity, Political Science, Economics, and finally, Sociology), had taken leave of teaching duties during World War I to become a field director of the American Red Cross. Wyckoff directed the Gulf division, then moved on to the mid-Atlantic office (not before giving Harry Hopkins, 12′, his first big break by having him appointed as his successor in New Orleans), and then became a commissioner of organization for the League of Red Cross Societies in Geneva, Switzerland. After the war ended, Wyckoff worked for 2 years to establish a branch of the Red Cross in Czechoslovakia, for which he received this honorific award, Řád Bílého lva.