The influx of people into the third floor lobby of the Center for the Arts increased steadily, going from a trickle to a downpour in the span of 10 minutes. One look around the room exemplified the wide-reaching impact Dee Ann Holisky, who recently retired from her position as senior associate dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, has had in her time at George Mason University.
Faculty and staff from departments throughout the university had gathered to honor her. In true Holisky fashion, the ceremony was short and sweet, but not before some of Mason’s notable names shared their favorite memories of the colleague they worked with closely.
Julie Christensen, chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, prepared a Powerpoint presentation in the Georgian languages describing Holisky’s personal and professional qualities. Provost Peter Stearns mentioned his working relationship with Holisky, citing their many professional agreements and disagreements (“You can’t be right all the time,” Stearns said). Mason President Alan Merten snuck in a few words near the end of the ceremony, telling the gathered crowd that Holisky performed consistently high-quality work throughout her career, and that she always worked to ensure the best interests of the university.
Delivering the keynote speech, Jack Censer, dean of the college, said Holisky will be missed tremendously.
“It’s an emotional time because now all the rest of us will have to figure out what to do without the steady hand and deep knowledge of Dee Holisky,” he said.
Censer mentioned Holisky’s professional contributions, as well as her involvement with the linguistics program (in which she will become a faculty member) the Department of English, the different iterations of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the university as a whole.
“As Dee has asked us to be brief, there is no possible way that I can list all of her accomplishments,” Censer said. “Not that I know them all, because Dee seldom trumpets her achievements and contributions. In fact, she works unbelievably long hours without demanding attention and often deserved recognition.”
He added: “This event today is so justified because it allows us to acknowledge, at least once, which is certainly not enough, all her achievements of the past several years.”
There is no denying that history is a lot more solid, colorful, engaging and complete now that Holisky has made her mark.