ODK to Initiate Four Honorary and 32 Student Members during 2015 Founders Day/ODK Convocation
Washington and Lee University’s Alpha Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society, will welcome four honorary and 32 student initiates at W&L’s annual Founders Day-ODK Convocation on Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. in Wilson Concert Hall.
The convocation is free and open to the public. The program and ceremony will be streamed live online at https://new.livestream.com/wlu/founders-odk-2015.
James C. Cobb, award-winning author, historian of the American South and University of Georgia history professor, will speak on the topic, “Would the Past Be Better Off Dead?” a reference to a famous line from the works of Southern author William Faulkner suggesting how bruised and battered the South’s troublesome past has become from constant skirmishing about its content, meaning and how it should be represented today.
ODK honorary initiates are: Marylin Evans Alexander, property manager of Rockbridge Area Housing Corporation, and three members of the W&L university community: Dennis W. Cross, vice president for university advance¬ment; Mark E. Rush, the Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Professor of Politics and Law, who was recently named the next director of the Center for Global Learning; and Julie A. Woodzicka, a professor of psychology.
Alexander serves as property manager for the Rockbridge Area Housing Corporation. She manages operations for the multifamily property, oversees eligibility requirements for rental assistance, and prepares the budget, government contracts and grant proposals. Previously, she worked as a recruiter on the human resources staff at Target Distribution Center in Fishersville, Virginia. She also worked for 20 years as an employment interviewer, counselor and account representative for the Virginia Employment Commission. Alexander received her B.A. in sociology with a minor in history from Virginia State University. She has been involved in volunteer organizations including Delta Sigma Theta sorority, the VSU Alumni Association and the NAACP. She was a founding member of the Rockbridge YMCA Board of Directors and has served on the board of directors for Fine Arts in Rockbridge. She is a member of the Kendal board of directors and is involved in the Lylburn Downing Alumni Association. She is treasurer for the Lexington First Baptist Church. Alexander is an influential leader in local government. She served on the Lexington City School Board for 10 years, including as its chair. She was recently reelected to a second term as a member of the Lexington City Council, where she has served as liaison to Threshold housing and as a member of the social and economic services committee, and led the finance and physical services committee and the city manager search committee.
Cross is the vice president for University advancement at Washington and Lee. He oversees alumni affairs, communications and public affairs, development, the campaign, law school advancement, special events, special programs and the University collections of art and history. He earned a B.A. in philosophy with a minor in English, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, at Vanderbilt University in 1976, and an M.Div. and a Th.M. with a concentration in philosophy of religion from Harvard University Divinity School. He started his career at First American National Bank in Nashville in 1982, where he completed a year-long management training program at the largest bank in Tennessee and one of the 100 largest in the United States. He served as director of alumni and development for Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science from 1986 until 1992; senior associate dean and executive director of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Arts and Sciences Foundation from 1992 to 2000; and vice president for university development at the College of William and Mary from 2000 to 2004. He planned and initiated successful $2 billion and $500 million campaigns at Carolina and William and Mary. He joined Washington and Lee as vice president in 2004. He conceptualized and is serving as the managing director of the $500 million Honor Our Past, Build Our Future: The Campaign for Washington and Lee, the second-largest campaign ever publicly announced at a liberal arts college. Since 1994, he has been a vice president or a senior manager and advancement officer at institutions recognized 12 times with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s Circle of Excellence Award in Educational Fundraising, a top honor awarded to a small number of colleges and universities each year. He has been active in numerous community activities in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. In December 2014, he completed a term on the vestry at R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church, where he served as senior warden for the past two years. He is the chairman of the board of governors of Stuart Hall School in Staunton (pre-K through 12) and a member of the board of trustees of the Church Schools of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.
Rush is the Waxberg Professor of Politics and Law at Washington and Lee and a member of the Politics Department, where he has served since 1990. He has taught law and undergraduate courses in constitutional law, election law, western democracy, science and religion, American government, global politics and statistics. At Washington and Lee, he has served in numerous capacities, including head of the Department of Politics and director of the Program in International Commerce and the New York Internship Program. Beginning July 1, 2015, he will serve as director of International Education and the Center for Global Learning. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins and his B.A. from Harvard. His publications include “Does Redistricting Make a Difference?” (1993), “Fair and Effective Representation” (2001) and “Judging Democracy” (2008), and numerous articles and op-eds on politics and law in the United States and around the world. In his spare time, Rush writes baseball columns. He spent three years overseas as dean of arts and sciences at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. There he oversaw the expansion of the Performing Arts Program, the creation of an honors program in writing and the establishment of new relationships with numerous international institutions. He has long been involved with community athletic efforts. He serves on the board of Friends of Rockbridge Swimming and volunteers as a youth swimming official for the Virginia High School League and USA Swimming. He is married to Florinda Ruiz, and they have two sons, William and Alex.
Woodzicka is a professor of psychology at Washington and Lee University. She earned a B.A. in psychology, magna cum laude, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, an M.A. in clinical psychology at the University of Dayton, and a Ph.D. in social psychology from Boston College, spending the last two years of her program in residence at Yale University. She began teaching at Washington and Lee in 2000, and co-taught W&L’s inaugural women’s and gender studies introductory course. Woodzicka’s research explores the interpersonal and social consequences of subtle prejudice and discrimination, most recently the effects of sexist and racist humor. She is certified in the Facial Action Coding System, allowing her to examine nuanced facial expressions. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Council on Undergraduate Research and the American Psychological Foundation. Woodzicka has served as chairperson for W&L’s Science, Society and the Arts undergraduate research conference and the Institutional Review Board for Research with Human Subjects. She has been a member of the Faculty Executive Committee, Student Affairs Committee, Student Faculty Hearing Board and various committees and advisory boards dedicated to making W&L a more inclusive community. W&L committees to which she provides active service include the President’s Advisory Committee, Women’s and Gender Studies Advisory Committee and Faculty Athletics Mentor Program (swimming). Woodzicka is a USA Swimming certified coach and promotes swimming by volunteer coaching the Rockbridge STORM swim team and teaching swimming in the Make-a-Splash program. She also has served as a local and district chairperson for the national PTA Reflections Program, designed to encourage participation in the arts.
Undergraduate Initiates:
Class of 2015
Syed Haider Ali (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts) is majoring in biochemistry. A Johnson Scholar, he is also president of the Red Cross Club, a peer tutor, a member of Rockbridge Dog Rescue and editor-in-chief of The Political Review. Ali belongs to Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, the American Chemical Society and the American Association of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He has worked as a student researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School.
Victoria Elizabeth Blackstone (Roseville, Minnesota) is majoring in Spanish and psychology. A member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, she is president of Catholic Campus Ministry and co-teacher of the parish confirmation class. Blackstone also serves as the assistant head resident adviser and co-chaired the Orientation Week activities. She received a Wooley International Fellowship for her internship in Lima, Peru, working at La Fundación Peruana de Cáncer.
Elizabeth Blair Davis (New Orleans, LA) is majoring in art history. A Johnson Scholar, she is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Delta Premedical Honor Society and the Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society and is a recipient of the National Merit Scholarship and the Harvard Book Award. Blair is a member of the Nu Delta Alpha Dance Honor Society, the W&L Repertory Dance Company (she serves as president), and she has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012, the American College Dance Festival Association and the Cucalorus Dance and Film Festival.
Anna Olivia Dorsett (Greensboro, North Carolina) is majoring in biochemistry. A member of Beta Beta Beta and Alpha Epsilon Delta, she has worked as a Summer Research Scholar and served as a Volunteer Venture leader. Dorsett is a Bonner Scholar and has served the community at Head Start, the Rockbridge Area Health Center and Project Horizon women’s shelter. She is minoring in the Shepherd Program for Poverty and Human Capability Studies, and was named Alpha Delta Pi National Collegiate Volunteer of the Year for 2013.
Bailey Elizabeth Ewing (Dallas, Texas) is majoring in accounting and business administration. A recipient of the L.K. Johnson-Rosasco Scholarship and a Johnson Opportunity Grant, she is active in Lifestyle Information For Everyone, General Development and Reformed University Fellowship.
Mary Lynn Gabe (Mequon, Wisconsin) is majoring in mathematics (B.S.) and economics (B.A.). A Johnson Scholar, she is president of Pi Mu Epsilon (the Mathematics Honor Society) and a member of Phi Eta Sigma. Gabe is captain of the W&L women’s swim team and a member of the Campus Ministry Team at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. She serves as executive director of Washington and Lee Student Consulting.
Wilson McGehee Hallett (Charlotte, North Carolina) is majoring in economics. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Eta Sigma, he is the co-chair of Kathekon. Hallett serves as a peer counselor and is a leader in the Williams Investment Society, where he is the industry group leader for technology.
Cort B. Hammond (Seattle, Washington) is majoring in chemistry-engineering. He is the president of W&L’s Engineers Without Borders and participated in building water-filtration systems at elementary schools in Guatemala. Hammond is a leader of W&L’s Student Environmental Action League.
Sarah Elizabeth Hampton (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) is majoring in business administration and economics. A member of Phi Eta Sigma, she is the executive director of the Williams Investment Society. Hampton volunteers at Waddell Elementary School.
Ashley Renee Humbert (Somerset, Pennsylvania) is majoring in English with a minor in women’s and gender studies. A resident adviser, she is an Outing Club key staff member and served as the First-Year Orientation Committee Activities Co-Chair. Humbert is also the Sexual Health Awareness Group committee chair.
Sara Joanna Korash-Schiff (Hadley, Massachusetts) is majoring in English and journalism and mass communications. She had an internship at the Hachette Book Group in Tennessee, and has served on the W&L Library Committee. Korash-Schiff writes for the W&L Office of Communications and Public Affairs.
Casey Ables Mackintosh (Marietta, Georgia) is majoring in business administration. A co-captain of both the cross-country team and the track and field team, she is a two-time ODAC athlete of the week, four-time First-Team All-ODAC and the ODAC 10K champion. MacIntosh is a Panhellenic delegate, and she has served as both the executive vice president and president of the Venture Club.
Anne Laura Persons (Atlanta, Georgia) is majoring in English with a minor in creative writing. Anne received the Maxwell P. Wilkinson Scholarship in English and the George A. Mahan Award in creative writing. She is a Writing Center tutor, a volunteer tutor at Lylburn Downing Middle School and a volunteer at Project Horizon. Persons serves on the Glasgow Endowment Committee and is head editor at MUSE.
Katherine Cook Rush (Cornelius, North Carolina) is majoring in mathematics. She is the W&L varsity women’s soccer team captain. Rush was named to the All-ODAC First Team in 2012 and 2013. She is a LAUNCH mentor and a head of the Promise Committee and active in the Pi Mu Epsilon math honor society.
Eric Michael Schwen (Cottage Grove, Minnesota) is majoring in physics. A Johnson Scholar, Eric has received the prestigious 2014 Goldwater Scholarship, which promotes careers in science, mathematics and engineering. Schwen has attended international physics conferences in Paris and Madrid and is a teaching assistant in W&L’s physics laboratory. He is an academic peer tutor in introductory physics and calculus and a member of W&L’s Outing Club.
Brandon Elliot Taylor (Petersburg, Virginia) is majoring in computer science and physics-engineering. He is the captain of the W&L football team, a member of Phi Eta Sigma and a graduate of the Generals Leadership Academy. Taylor serves as vice-president of internal affairs of the Russian Club, and is the co-editor of the Journal of Slavic Studies.
Class of 2016
Chris Jihyun Ahn (Fairfax, Virginia) is majoring in business administration, with minors in poverty and human capability studies and education policy. He serves through the Bonner Program, primarily at Project Horizon and as an ESOL tutor, leads a Volunteer Venture Pre-Orientation trip and serves as the aging chair for the Nabors Service League. Ahn sings in the University Singers, the General Admission a cappella group and the Robert E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church choir.
Jacqueline Elizabeth Carson (Williamsburg, Virginia) is majoring in biology and economics, with a minor in poverty and human capability studies. A Johnson Scholar, she is a Nabors Service League volunteer and secretary of the College Democrats. Carson is a resident adviser, vice president of SPEAK and is active in Model United Nations. She belongs to Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society and Alpha Epsilon Delta Health Preprofessional Honor Society.
Andrew John McCaffery (Santa Barbara, California) is majoring in chemistry-engineering. He is the general chair of Mock Convention 2016 and founder and president of the W&L Men’s Volleyball Club. McCaffery also leads the first-year Pre-Orientation backpacking trip and belongs to the Southern Comfort a cappella group.
Alice Caitlin Moore (Greencastle, Indiana) is majoring in economics and math. A Johnson Scholar, she belongs to the Bonner Program and is overall student coordinator for Volunteer Venture. Moore is co-president of SPEAK and is active in Panhellenic Council. She is a client services intern at Project Horizon, the education chair of Community Financial Freedom and a resident adviser, and last year was named RA of the Year. She received the W&L Decade Award for 2014.
Emma Maria Swabb (Erie, Pennsylvania) is majoring in psychology, with a minor in poverty and human capability studies. A member of Phi Eta Sigma, she was named ODAC Rookie of the Year for the swim team in 2012-13 as well as Outstanding First-Year Female Athlete. Swabb is a Panhellenic Scholarship recipient and co-president of SPEAK. She serves as an Outing Club Appalachian Adventure trip leader. She is a Campus Kitchen volunteer leader and chair of 24 Publications.
Anna Russell Thornton (Nashville, Tennessee) is majoring in English and politics, with a minor in education policy. A Johnson Scholar, she serves on the Reformed University Fellowship Ministry Team and is a peer counselor. In 2013-14, she was secretary of the Executive Committee of the Student Body. Thornton is the web chair for the 2016 Mock Convention.
Pasquale Stellianos Toscano (Kettering, Ohio) is majoring in English and Classics. A Johnson Scholar, he has received the James McDowell Scholarship and the James M. Davidson Memorial Fund Scholarship. He belongs to Phi Eta Sigma and serves as a justice on the Student Judicial Council. Toscano is a peer tutor and University Big Brother and a member of the University Wind Ensemble. He has received the Dabney Stuart Prize in English and the Sidney Coulling Prize in English.
Inga Louise Wells (Upper Arlington, Ohio) is majoring in accounting, with a minor in dance. She belongs to Nu Delta Alpha Dance Honor Society and is co-president of the W&L Repertory Dance Company. Wells serves as chair of domestic projects for the General Development Initiative Inc. Microfinance 501(c)(3). She is a Washington and Lee Student Consulting Project Leader and a writer for inGeneral Magazine.
Law School Initiates
Class of 2015
Terrence Anthony Austin (Richmond, Virginia) is a graduate of Virginia Tech (2012). He is a Kirgis Fellow and Burks Scholar and serves as a research assistant. Terrence belongs to the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse Clinic, where he assists criminal defense attorneys with their clients and caseload. Upon graduation, he will move to Baltimore, Maryland, to clerk with Judge Pamela J. White ’77L of the Baltimore City Circuit Court.
Stephen Robert Halpin III (Rockville, Maryland) received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia (2010), where during his final year, he received the James Hay Jr. Award for exceptional service to the Honor System. Steve is editor in chief of the Washington and Lee Law Review and a member of the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series Board, and has served as a research assistant. Next year he will clerk for Judge Robert B. King on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Brendan P. McHugh (Sicklerville, New Jersey) is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (2012), where he was an all American swimmer and graduated magna cum laude. Brendan is on the USA Swimming National Team and holds the U.S. Open record in the 50-meter breaststroke. He is the lead articles editor for the Washington and Lee Law Review.
Ryan Christopher Redd (Charlotte, North Carolina) is a graduate of the Uni-versity of North Carolina at Greensboro (2012), where he majored in music and political science. Ryan belongs to Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society. He is the president of the Student Bar Association at Washington and Lee.
Richard Garrett Rice (Mercersburg, Pennsylvania) is a graduate of Lafayette College (2012), where he graduated magna cum laude. He is the senior articles editor for the Washington and Lee Law Review and received the Washington and Lee Law Council Law Review Award for Best Note. Garrett serves as a law ambassador and is active in the Christian Legal Society.
Meg E. Sawyer (Columbia, Maryland) is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park (2011), where she majored in Spanish language and literature. She is an executive editor of the Washington and Lee Law Review and received the Roy L. Steinheimer Law Review Award for Best Note. She has served as a judicial intern for a senior United States district judge in the Eastern District of Virginia and upon graduation will work as an associate for K&L Gates in Charleston, South Carolina.
Class of 2016
Aria Bianca Maria Allan (Montgomery, Alabama) is a graduate of Washington and Lee University (2012), where she majored in English and Spanish, with a minor in Latin American and Caribbean studies. She belongs to ADPi Housing Corp. and the Latin American Law Students Association. Aria won the the John W. Davis Appellate Advocacy Brief Writing Competition.
Julianne Catherine Freeman (Goshen, New York) is a graduate of Cornell University (2012), where she majored in industrial labor relations. She spent this past summer as a legal intern at Major League Baseball Properties Inc., and is a staff writer for the Washington and Lee Law Review. Julieanne serves as the treasurer for the Latin American Law Students Association. Next summer, she will work at Norfolk Southern Corp. in Norfolk, Virginia, as a law clerk.
Emily Elaine Tichenor (DeLand, Florida) is a graduate of Baylor University (2013), where she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in linguistics and was initiated into Phi Beta Kappa. She is a staff writer on the Washington and Lee Law Review and serves as secretary for the Public Interest Law Student Association. She is also a Kirgis Fellow, assisting first-year law students with their transition to law school.
