College of Humanities and Social Sciences alumni are an accomplished community. Many have achieved major feats or hold prominent roles in a variety of organizations. They are educators, government employees, business owners, artists, researchers and a whole lot more.
To kick off Alumni Weekend 2013 at George Mason University, the college honored 10 prestigious former students at the fourth annual Distinguished Alumni Reception, held on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. The college’s academic departments selected the awardees from their respective fields, taking into consideration the impact of their work (paid and volunteer), as well as leadership and academic success during their college careers.
"[You] are making a real difference in your communities, nationally and internationally," said Deborah Boehm-Davis, dean of the college, while speaking to alumni during Friday’s event. "As I look at the diversity of your accomplishments, I am taken with how they mirror the diversity within our college. You are active in education, public service, government, the arts, research and business. Your contributions reach people far and wide."
Anne Nicotera, chair of the Department of Communication, nominated Theresa Werner (BS ’96) for the award. She listed Werner’s career achievements, leadership positions and volunteer service as the reasons she was qualified to take home the honor.
"As the first freelance journalist to be elected president of the National Press Club, Theresa Werner is professionally accomplished as both a prominent journalist and a leader among her peers," Nicotera said. "Werner is a former president of the local chapter of American Women in Radio and Television and former president of the American Newswoman's Club. She also does important charity work for the Honor Flight Network and the Embry Rucker Homeless Shelter."
Similarly, Brian Platt, chair of the Department of History and Art History, detailed the well-rounded qualities of his department’s nominee, Robert Townsend (PhD ’09).
"Our graduate program prides itself on training our students to excel in a wide range of careers, not just those within academia," Platt said. "Though we cannot take credit for Robert’s career, his professional accomplishments, which include demanding administrative responsibilities alongside public history work and traditional historical scholarship, exemplify the range of things we want our graduates to be able to do."
Laura Scott, faculty member in the Department of English, reflected on the values of her department's nominee, Lucy Jilka, a senior official in the U.S. Department of State who is also a published poet, fluent speaker of Russian and avid piano player.
"We like to think of Lucy Jilka's ongoing accomplishments in the arts, culture and government service as demonstrating the core English department belief that a combination of curiosity and creativity is crucial to success in life," Scott said.
A complete list of this year’s CHSS Distinguished Alumni follows:
- Emily Chamlee-Wright, BA '88, MA ’90, PhD ’93, Economics
- Jane Haddad, BA '82, MA ’84, PhD ’86, Psychology
- Jacob Jenkins, BA ’07, Integrative Studies, MPA ’11
- Lucy Jilka, MFA ’95, Creative Writing
- Glenn Magee, BA ’89, Philosophy
- Leya Mundrake, MA ’12, Global Affairs
- Tuan Nguyen, BIS ’12
- Robert Townsend, PhD ’09, History
- Theresa Werner, BS ’96, Communication
Barbara B. Knight Distinguished Alumna Award
- Sharon Ringley, BA ’93, Government and Politics