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ODK to Initiate Three Honorary and 28 Student Initiates during Founders Day/ODK Convocation

Washington and Lee University’s Alpha Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa will recognize three honorary initiates in addition to 28 student initiates at the Founders Day/Omicron Delta Kappa Convocation on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 11:45 a.m. in Lee Chapel.

Gordon S. Wood, the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University, will speak on “Why The Founders Are Important” at the convocation.

The ODK honorary inductees are Leroy Cole (Buddy) Atkins of Lexington, Robert Jackson Kelly of Atlanta and Joan Nancy Robins of Lexington.

Buddy Atkins, director of donor relations at W&L, graduated from W&L in 1968. He taught at Virginia Episcopal School (VES) in Lynchburg before serving in the Navy for three years, and returned to VES as athletic director before returning to W&L as assistant alumni director. He became associate alumni director in 1983 and associate dean of students in 1986, serving as the University as a point person for the Fraternity Renaissance, the establishment of sororities and the planning and construction of the sorority houses. Atkins was instrumental in the planning and construction of the Elrod Commons and served as acting director of it for the first year. In 2004 he joined University Development.

Atkins has served the community as chair of the American Cancer Society, on the board and as president of the Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce, coach of the Lexington Lacrosse Club, coach of the Lexington High School lacrosse team (two years), first lacrosse coach (two years) at Rockbridge County High School and volunteer coach and official for the Youth Soccer League. He has served as treasurer of R.E. Lee Memorial Church, with a term on the vestry. He has also served since 1978 as chapter advisor, university advisor and alumni house corporation member of the Virginia Sigma Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity.

Robert Jackson Kelly, from Atlanta, Ga., is a vice president for Coca-Cola Co. and investor relations officer. A 1987 cum laude graduate of W&L, he earned an M.B.A. from Duke University. He served at Coca-Cola as special assistant to the office of the president and CEO, vice president and director of international marketing services, vice-president of business development and marketing director. In 1994, Kelly was the associate brand manager responsible for launching the company’s first sports drink, Powerade. He has also served as president of Brand Atlanta Inc. He is a certified public accountant and is registered in Virginia.

He is involved in the Atlanta community, serving on the boards of the Atlanta Speech School, the Midtown Alliance and the Georgia Trust. He is currently chairman of the board of trustees for the Atlanta Botanical Garden and has previously served on the board of the Metro Chamber of Commerce. He is also a trustee of the National Health Museum.

Joan Nancy Robins, director of W&L’s Hillel, has been instrumental in the revitalization of Jewish life at Washington and Lee. Starting as a volunteer in 2001, Robins quickly developed innovative student programs, rekindled relationships with alumni and has seen the number of Jewish students enrolled on campus triple. In 2007, she helped lead a fund-raising campaign to build a physical home for Jewish life; in October 2009, having raised more than $4 million, Robins, along with the campus community, broke ground on the Hillel House, the first spiritual center of its kind in Washington and Lee’s history.

An R.N. for much of her 40-year career, she created the first intensive-care unit at Stonewall Jackson Hospital. Robins is a founding member of the Rockbridge Area Hospice, where she developed its first patient-care program. She has served on the boards of the Mental Health Association, the Association for Retarded Citizens and the Community Services Board. She holds a B.S. from Boston University.

Class of 2010:

William Douglas Baker from Alpharetta, Ga.; Brandon Lee Barnds from Misson Hills, Miss.; Kathryn Paige Boiles from Nacogdoches, Texas; Natalie Ida Bunnell from Clarendon Hills, Ill; Alexandra Caritis from Pittsburgh, Pa.; Gustaf Robert Cavanaugh from Alexandria, Va.; Samara Tinette Melia Francisco from Cordova, Tenn.; Cale Grove from Oak Hill, Va.; Caroline Louise Head from Edmond, Okla.; Grace Buckley McGee from Virginia Beach, Va.; Marquita Julia Robinson from Oklahoma City, Okla.; Aparajita Singh from Patna, India; Katherine Sinks from Ivy, Va.; Daniel Frederick Thornton from Dumfries, Va.; and Kimber Wiggs from Lakeland, Fla.

Class of 2011:

Crighton Thomas Allen from Thomasville, Ga.; Stephanie J. Brown from Centerport, N.Y.; Devin S. Cooper from Alpharetta, Ga.; Katherine E. Donnelly from Houston, Texas; Michael Todd Kuntz from Stafford, Va.; and Emily Taylor Mathews from Baltimore, Md.

Law School Class of 2010:

Edward Stewart Crosland from Bethesda, Md.; Michael Preston Gardner from Martinsville, Va.; Gene Patrick Hamilton from Lexington, Va.; Edward Benton Keatley from Kansas City, Mo.; and Andrew Aaron Spievack from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Law School Class of 2011:

Christopher J. Hartsfield from Durham, N.C. and Meghan Monoghan from La Plata, Md.