2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards Washington and Lee University is proud to announce this year's Distinguished Alumni Award winners

Office of Alumni Engagement
April 3, 2023

Washington and Lee University is proud to announce this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award winners. We will celebrate the recipients during Alumni Weekend, May 4-7, 2023.

Mr. Donald Eavenson, Jr. ’73

Don entered Washington and Lee in the fall of 1969 as an undergraduate student. He double majored in History and Journalism, was a Dean’s List and Honor Roll student and was tapped as a member of Sigma Delta Chi Journalism Society. An active campus leader, he served as a dorm counselor, senior class vice president, and is a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He was selected for Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.

He was a four-year letterman in both football and lacrosse. As a senior, he served as the team captain for both sports. In football, he was named all-conference and received the Clovis-Moomau Trophy for Spirit and Sportsmanship. Don was a two-time All-American in lacrosse, was awarded the Wheelwright Trophy as the team’s most valuable player as a junior, and was selected for the North-South All-Star Game. Don was named an Outstanding College Athlete of America in both his junior and senior years. He capped his athletic career by being named the recipient of the Preston R. Brown Most Outstanding and Most Valuable Senior Athlete Trophy. In recognition of Don’s outstanding athletic performance, he was inducted into the Washington and Lee Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005 and in 2019 as a member of the 1973 Men’s Lacrosse Team. He was also inducted into the Eastern Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2021.

Following graduation, Don taught history and coached football and lacrosse at the McDonogh School in Baltimore. During this time, he earned a Masters of Education from Johns Hopkins University. Don went on to earn an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania before embarking on a 35-year career in the pharmaceutical industry. He spent most of his career working for Johnson & Johnson as a Brand Manager, Marketing Director and Vice President of Marketing, managing iconic brands such as Tylenol and Splenda, as well as Vice President of Business Development where he executed a number of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and licensing agreements for J&J’s Consumer Products Group of Companies. He also spent seven years working as Vice President of Marketing for Schering-Plough’s Consumer Healthcare Division, managing their Coppertone Suncare and OTC businesses. After retiring, Don spent seven years working part time for a private investment company who partnered with private equity firms to acquire consumer/personal care brands, grow them and divest them.

As an avid community service volunteer, Don served on the Presidential Search Committee for Delaware Valley University, as a board member and campaign chair for the United Way of Somerset County, N.J., as a Vestry member and Senior Warden for Trinity Episcopal Church, Solebury, Pa., and as a youth lacrosse coach.

Don has a long history of service to his alma mater, serving on the Alumni Board as a member, Vice-President and President, and as a member of the University Athletic Committee. He also served as a Class Agent for the Annual Fund and as a long-time member of his class reunion committee including Co-Chair for his 45th Reunion in 2018.

Mr. Craig B. Jones ’73

Mr. Craig Jones obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, summa cum laude. He earned a juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1977. Craig was a member of the Student Executive Committee, Sigma Society, Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa, and he is a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Craig practiced law for ten years with King & Spalding, from 1977 to 1987, where he was a partner in the Real Estate Department in the firm’s Atlanta office. In 1987, he left King & Spalding to join New Market Development Company, an Atlanta-based shopping center developer, where he served as the Executive Vice President in charge of development and financing.

In 1992, he joined Cousins Properties, a real estate investment trust listed on the NYSE, and he went on to serve in a number of different positions, including President of the Office Division, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Administrative Officer.

Since his retirement from Cousins Properties in 2012, Craig has remained active by serving on the board of directors of several for-profit and nonprofit companies. In particular, he has served on the boards of two publicly traded real estate companies. He has also served as the Chairman of the Board of KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools, which operates eleven public charter schools with more than 5,300 students. Craig has also volunteered his time as Chairman of the Board of the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District which funds transportation infrastructure projects and public safety and economic development initiatives.

In addition to his successful career and volunteer efforts, Craig has consistently given back to Washington and Lee over the last 50 years. He has served as an alumni career mentor, Atlanta chapter volunteer, and on the Atlanta area capital campaign committee. Craig has volunteered for his 25th, 35th, 40th, 45th and 50th W&L reunion committees, serving as Co-Chair for the 40th and 50th reunions.

Mr. Andrew W. Tate ’98

Andrew Tate graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science with Special Attainments in Commerce. He was a Kathekon member, and member of the Sigma Society, served as a Social Organization Officer for his class and is a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity for which he served as president.

Andrew is a Senior Vice President of Wealth Management at UBS Financial Services and Private Wealth Advisor with The O’Brien Tate Group, in Charlotte, N.C.

He holds more than 20 years of experience in the finance industry. As an advisor, Andrew provides financial planning services and portfolio management for ultra-high net worth families and business owners. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2001.

Before joining UBS Financial Services in 2014, Andrew spent more than seven years at Sterling Capital Management, LLC, where he served as a fixed income strategist, member of the investment committee, and leader of the institutional and retail distribution teams. Andrew began his career with Bank of America in 1998, where he worked in the debt capital markets group. He also served as a Client Manager and Principal.

In addition to his successful career, Andrew serves on the board of trustees at Charlotte Country Day School where he is currently the Treasurer and Secretary and a member of the executive committee. He is a member of the Good Fellows Club, a charitable organization focused on assisting the working poor and is on the Board of Governors at Quail Hollow Club, where he serves as Treasurer and a member of the executive committee.

Andrew is an involved and supportive alumnus who has consistently given back to Washington and Lee over the last 25 years. He has volunteered his time as an Annual Fund SPEAK volunteer, seven years as a Class Agent, six years as an Annual Fund Council Member, and most recently, Chair of the Annual Fund for five years. Andrew has served on his 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th reunion committees, including as Chair of his 10th reunion.

Dr. Rebecca L. Bagdonas ’98

Rebecca graduated from Washington and Lee in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Science and Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Musicology, both magna cum laude. She is a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, and served as president her junior and senior years. Rebecca earned her medical degree from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y., in 2002.

Dr. Bagdonas completed her anesthesiology residency at New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center and her pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital where she treated children who have experienced an illness, injury, or disease that required surgery or a procedure.

She has been in private practice for 16 years post training, serving as director of Pediatric Anesthesiology at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mt. Sinai from 2009-2018. Rebecca now operates her own practice providing office-based and ambulatory surgery center anesthesia care.

In addition to her successful career, Rebecca volunteers her time with the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering and is a member of the Women’s Committee of Central Park Conservancy. She serves as an alumni advisor for the Pi Beta Phi chapter at NYU and actively participates at Marymount School where her daughters attend. She is an active class parent and is in charge of lower school fundraising.

Rebecca is an involved and supportive alumna who has consistently given back to Washington and Lee over the last 25 years. She volunteers as a member of the Alumni Admissions Program, as a Class Agent since 2016, she served on her 20th and 25th reunion committees, and is active in the New York City Alumni Chapter, hosting several university events at her home.

Rebecca resides in New York City with her husband and three daughters. Her brother Brian Bagdonas is also a W&L graduate, Class of 2001, and lives in Hoboken, N.J.

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