Mount Vernon College Commencement recognizes service

D.C. Council Chair Linda Cropp addressed more than 100 graduates at the Mount Vernon College commencement May 10.

Cropp was elected to an at-large seat on the council in 1990 and was re-elected in 1994. In 1997, she became the first woman to chair the council.

At Mount Vernon’s commencement, three honorary doctorates were conferred on individuals who made significant contributions to society, according to an MVC press release.

One recipient, David Palmer Close, is an attorney and an officer for the Marjorie Merriweather Post Foundation of D.C. He served on MVC’s Board of Trustees for more than 35 years and received the Board of Trustees’ Medal for Exceptional Service in 1993.

MVC alumna Sally Cunningham Nevius also received an honorary doctorate. She has served as director of admissions, dean of students and president of the Alumnae Association. She also served as a trustee, including two terms as Board chair.

Recipient Anne Berkley Smith has served as chair of annual giving, president of the Alumnae Association, alumna trustee and chair of the Board of Trustees.

Rowena Thom Rathbone, a photographer and trained psychologist, and Nancy Elizabeth Jenkins, a special education specialist, received the 1998 Distinguished Alumnae Awards.

The first two Elizabeth J. Somers Medals were given to Walter Beach and Virginia Young in recognition of their service to MVC.

Mount Vernon College entered a financial affiliation with GW in the fall of 1996. MVC will be fully incorporated as a school of the University by June 1999.

-Francesca Di Meglio

GW to present achievement awards to five alumni

GW will present Alumni Achievement Awards to five GW graduates Saturday evening at a dinner at Union Station.

David B. Falk, a 1975 graduate of GW Law School, has made his mark as a sports and entertainment attorney. He is chief executive of Falk Associates Management Enterprises.

Also recognized will be Charles C. Krulak, who received a master’s degree from the School of Business and Public Management in 1973 and became 31st commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Ruth Helm Osborn, who received a master’s degree in 1946 and a doctorate in education in 1963, is a psychologist who has studied personnel administration, continuing education and women’s studies.

Also receiving an alumni award will be Mansfield F.W. Smith, a 1956 graduate of GW’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences and chief executive of the Hearing Institute for Children and Adults.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge and University of Southern California Professor Judith Chirlin, a graduate of the Columbian School of Arts and Sciences, also will be honored.

-Kathryn Maese

Professor Arthur Kirsch honored for his service to GW

Arthur Kirsch, a professor of statistics and psychology, will receive the 1998 Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Prize for University Service at Commencement Sunday.

The award honors a faculty member who consistently has served on a wide range of University committees.

Kirsch has served on the Faculty Senate several times since the 1960s. He also served on the Joint Committee of Faculty and Students; the board of the Black People’s Union; the Appointments, Salaries and Promotion Policy Committee; the Budget Advisory Team and the Benefits Review Committee.

After retiring this May, Kirsch said he plans to travel. However, he will continue to serve on the Benefits Review Committee and the NCAA certification self-study team as a professor emeritus.

Harry Yeide, a professor of religion, will receive a Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Teaching Prize at Commencement. Susan Tolchin will receive the Prize for research scholarship.

The Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg prizes were established in 1991 in memory of GW President Stephen Joel Tracthenberg’s late parents.

-Francesca Di Meglio