Martha-Ellen Tye is an avid supporter of the arts at Iowa and is a generous contributor to the University of Iowa Museum of Art, the School of Music and the Opera Theatre. Mrs. Tye contributed the pace-setting gift to the Second Century Fund capital campaign and the College of Law and was a key member of the steering committee for that campaign. She has established and has generously funded a scholarship in law in memory of her husband, Joe B. Tye, who was a prominent attorney in Marshalltown, Iowa, and who was a graduate of the U of I College of Law.
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.