Each year, the faculty of the Department of Public and International Affairs select an outstanding masters of public administration student to receive the John D.R. Cole Award signifying excellence in academic achievement. This year, two students were honored: Virginia Pera and Abby Gwaltney.
"What I enjoyed the most about the master of public administration program were my excellent professors," Gwaltney said. "I was impressed with the caliber of faculty at George Mason University and especially benefited from their real-world experience, contacts, and guest speakers from the non-profit community around D.C."
John D.R. Cole's career reflects the highest values of the profession as he combined long service as a public manager with an academic career. Cole served in the U.S. Civil Service Commission, rising to become the highest-ranking career manager in the agency before his retirement. He would be called a senior SES rank today.
He then came to George Mason University where he served as a research professor for over 15 years and where he took a strong interest in the career development of MPA students. He taught many classes including an introduction to public administration, human resources management and implementation and performance measurement. Upon Cole's retirement from Mason, the faculty voted to name the outstanding MPA graduate award for him.