Jim Schelberg and Stephan Jordan Earn Double Honors As College Bestows Annual Awards

Gold Pentagon Award winners Stephan Jordan and Jim Schelberg with
President Reiss. Each would soon return for another major award.

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Two graduating seniors were doubly honored for their achievements and service as Washington College awarded its most important medals and prizes during 2012 Commencement on May 20. Stephan Anthony Jordan and James Hoitsma Schelberg shared the Gold Pentagon Award, which recognizes meritorious service to the College, and each also received solo recognition.

Schelberg, who graduated summa cum laude, took home the prestigious George Washington Medal as “the senior who shows the greatest promise of understanding and realizing in life and work the ideals of a liberal education.” Washington himself (as portrayed by actor Dean Malissa) strode to the podium to present the Medal, then briefly addressed the crowd, continuing a Commencement tradition.

To the delight of visitors, General George Washington strides to the
 podium to personally award his namesake Medal to Jim Schelberg.

A double major in philosophy and humanities, Jim Schelberg came to Washington College on a Hodson Trust Star Scholarship after serving with the U.S. Marines in Iraq. He interrupted his studies to serve a second tour of duty with the Marines, this time in Afghanistan. While on campus, the Towson native has been a member of the Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows; conducted research at the University of Oxford as part of the College’s summer Oxford Research Seminar on Religion, Politics and Culture; taught boxing as founder of the Washington College Mixed Martial Arts Club; and conducted important archival research for the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and the Maryland State Archives. At the Senior Awards Luncheon held the Friday before Commencement, Schelberg received the Norman James Humanities Award for Excellence and the Department of Philosophy and Religion Award.

 Washington salutes Schelberg.

Last summer he launched a prison outreach program called Partners in Philosophy, which offers courses in philosophy, logic and ethics to inmates of Maryland’s Jessup Correctional Institution. Washington College professors joined him to lead several of the classes, which ranged from ethical choices in Art History to the teachings of Plato, Buddha and Frederick Douglass. He will continue the program this summer. Schelberg earned national recognition as one of only 20 students nationwide to be selected for the 2011 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team.

Stephan Jordan was the faculty’s choice for the Henry W. Catlin 1894 Medal, awarded to “a senior man voted by the faculty to be outstanding in the qualities of scholarship, character, leadership and campus citizenship.” A political science major and drama minor from Frederick, Md., who graduated cum laude, Jordan served as a Peer Mentor, sang with WACappella and served on both the Student Government Association and the Honor Board. As a Hansard Scholar, he spent a semester in London, studying parliamentary government and British public policy at the London School of Economics and Politics and interning in the House of Commons. Last fall, Governor Martin O’Malley appointed him to be the student representative on the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

Virginia Long was awarded for her science
achievements and her appreciation of the arts.

Virginia Agnes Long of Silver Spring, Md., received the Jane Huston Goodfellow Memorial Prize, which recognizes an especially well- rounded science major “who has an abiding appreciation of the arts and humanities and has shown scholastic excellence.” She graduated magna cum laude and also earned a Department of Biology Research Award. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows, she was active in drama and dance productions during her four years on campus.  

Jesse James Schaefer won the Eugene B. Casey Medal, as “a senior woman voted by the faculty to be outstanding in the qualities of scholarship, character, leadership and campus citizenship.” A summa cum laude graduate who majored in sociology and human development, Schaefer was active in numerous organizations, including the Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows, the Peer Mentors, Equestrian Club, the Pi Lambda Theta education honor society and the Service Council. Schaefer, who hails from Bridgeton, N.J., also was awarded the Education Department Award, the Margaret Horsley Award (for “the clearest understanding of human social behavior”), the Sociology Service Award, the Karen Kaitz Emerick Award (recognizing strong character, leadership and service), and an Outstanding Community Service Recognition.

Jesse Schaefer steps forward for the Eugene B. Casey Medal.

Clark-Porter winner Antonio 

The Clark-Porter Medal went to student-government leader Andrew Francis John Antonio, who led the SGA for three years. The Medal recognizes “the student whose character and personal integrity, in the opinion of the faculty, have most clearly enhanced the quality of campus life.” Antonio, who grew up in Middletown, Del., also received the Schottland Business Leadership Award and the W. Dennis Berry ’87 Leadership Award. 

Goldstein winner Kimberly Pittman

Kimberly Nicole Pittman of Bel Air, Md., received the Louis L. Goldstein ’35 Award as the senior who “has demonstrated unusual interest, enthusiasm and potential in the field of public affairs.”  The International Studies major concentrated her studies on issues of peace and conflict and was the first Washington College student to take part in an exclusive internship program with NATO’s U.S. Mission in Brussels. She also was a member of the Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows and studied abroad in South Africa. A summa cum laude graduate, Pittman also took home Gender Studies and International Studies awards.

Medal winners Schaefer and Schelberg were among the four 2012 graduates who shared First Honors distinction for boasting the highest cumulative grade point average in the class. The other two top scholars were Michael Ryan Vanaskie, who also took home the Economics Department Award, and Courtney Rebecca Burton, who received the Psychology Department Outstanding Achievement Award and an Outstanding Community Service Recognition.

The 2012 Sophie Kerr Prize for literary promise was officially awarded to Kathryn J. Manion in the form of a check for $58,274. She had been announced as the winner May 15 at a special program in New York City where she and four other Prize finalists—Natalie L. Butz, Douglas S. Carter, Maria N. Queen and Erica A. Walburg—read from their portfolios.

Professor Christine Wade reacts to being named this year's recipient of
the Alumni Association's Distinguished Teaching Award.

Two professors were singled out for recognition during the Commencement. The Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award, based on input from both faculty and students, went to Christine J. Wade, associate professor of political science and international studies. A specialist in Latin American politics who joined the Washington College faculty in 2003, she is faculty advisor for students concentrating on Peace and Conflict Studies or Latin American Studies.

President Reiss congratulates the faculty recipient of
the Gold Pentagon Award, Mindy Reynolds-Walsh.

And Omicron Delta Kappa chose biology professor Mindy Reynolds-Walsh to receive a Gold Pentagon Award. Each year, the leadership honor society selects both a student winner or winners (this year, Schelberg and Jordan), and an alumnus, faculty member or friend of the College to recognize for their service to Washington College. A cell biologist who joined the faculty in 2008, Reynolds-Walsh researches the effects of chronic exposure to metal compounds.

Below is a full listing of the awards announced at the Senior Luncheon. For photos, visit the Campus Gallery page about the event.

Class of 2012 Senior Awards
 Given at the Senior Luncheon, May 18, 2012.

The American Studies Program Senior Capstone Experience Award, awarded to a graduating American studies major with the most outstanding senior research project: Amanda Lyn Whitaker

The Lynette Nielsen Art Award,  to acknowledge excellence in art: Alexandra Allerton Harlow Woodworth

The Art History Award,  to acknowledge excellence in the field of art history: Sean Michael Meade and Douglas Stewart Carter, Jr.

The Department of Biology Allied Health Professional Award, to the graduating biology major who has demonstrated academic excellence, who is pursuing an allied health degree, and who has a strong potential for success in an allied health field: Bethany Jordan Ackerman and Brittany Nicole Palasik

The Department of Biology Medical Professional Award, to the graduating biology major who has demonstrated academic excellence, who is pursuing a medical or veterinary degree, and who has a strong potential for success in the medical or veterinary fields: Katelyn Rose Laury and Benjamin David Longwell

The Department of Biology Research Award, to the graduating biology major who has demonstrated excellence in academics and undergraduate biological research: Virginia Agnes Long and Benjamin David Longwell

The Department of Biology Award of Special Recognition, awarded on special occasion to the graduating biology major who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and an exceptional depth of understanding in the field of biology: John Matthews Eglseder II

The Department of Biology Teaching Award, awarded on special occasion to the graduating biology major who has demonstrated academic excellence and exceptional dedication to science education: Alyssa Jacqueline Forget and Hannah Elizabeth O’Malley

The Department of Business Management Award, given to a graduating business major who has demonstrated outstanding qualities of scholarship, character and leadership: Allyson Leigh Yawman 

The Department of Business Management Senior Capstone Experience Award,  to a graduating business major with the most outstanding senior research project demonstrating high scholarship and analytical skills: Chelsea Caitlin Simpson

Schottland Business Leadership Award, awarded to the graduating business major who shows outstanding academic ability and leadership potential: Andrew Francis John Antonio

The Joseph H. McLain ’37 Prize, awarded to the graduating senior who, in the opinion of the Department of Chemistry, shows the greatest promise for making a future contribution to human understanding of chemistry. Endowed in 1982 by members of the American Pyrotechnics Association: Sean Andrew Harrison

The James R. Miller ’51 Award for Excellence in Chemistry, to an outstanding senior majoring in chemistry or a premedical student who has demonstrated special interest and high academic achievement in chemistry: Kelsie Elizabeth Jensen

The Stewart Drama Award, to a senior who has made outstanding contributions to the College through
dramatic and speaking ability. Endowed by Pearl Griffin Stewart ’05: Margaret Anne Matthews

The Economics Department Award, awarded to a graduating senior for outstanding academic performance and the potential for high achievement in the field of economics: Michael Ryan Vanaskie and Meghan Elyse Lepley

The Dr. Davy H. McCall Prize in Economics, to a graduating senior majoring in economics who has demonstrated special interest and high academic achievement and superior oral and written abilities in international economics: Leah Rae Sbriscia

The Maureen Jacoby Prize, to the graduating senior who has demonstrated dedication to student publications at Washington College, and has a strong potential for a future in the field of publications: Olivia Hamilton Mott

The Emil J. C. Hildenbrand Memorial Medal, to the senior who attains the highest average in English during the four years of study. Given by the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Alumni Association: Marta Lee Wesenberg

The Writers’ Union Award, for outstanding service to the Writers’ Union.  A gift of Robert L. Chamberlin, Jr. ’48 in memory of Mary Lou Chamberlin ’49: Kathryn Jeanne Manion


The Environmental Studies Award, to the graduating environmental studies major who, through academic accomplishment and extracurricular involvement, shows the greatest potential for making significant lifetime contributions to helping solve the world’s environmental problems: Amanda Anne-Marie Pruzinsky

The Gender Studies Award, to a graduating senior who has displayed unusual interest and/or scholarship
in the field of gender studies: Kimberly Nicole Pittman and Sarah Janney Hartge

The Arthur A. Knapp ’39 Memorial Prize in History, to the graduating history major who, in the opinion of the Department, has displayed unusual interest, enthusiasm and ability in the field of history: Alyssa Lynne Wagner and Charles August Weisenberger III

The Phi Alpha Theta Award, to a graduating history major for excellent historical scholarship: Alyssa Lynne Wagner

The Norman James Humanities Award for Excellence, given by the James family to the senior majoring in humanities who has shown academic distinction and represents the ideals of humanistic society: James Hoitsma Schelberg

The Daniel L. Premo Award, to the graduating senior in political science or international studies
who shows the most promise in the field of public diplomacy: Antoine Michael Jordan

The International Studies Award, to a graduating major who, in the opinion of the Department, demonstrates an exceptional understanding and interest in international affairs: Kimberly Nicole Pittman

The Tai Sung An Memorial Prize,  to the graduating international student who, in the opinion of the faculty of the international studies interdisciplinary major, has exemplified in an exceptional manner the benefits of inter-cultural education on our campus: Tokikake Ii

The Erika and Henry Salloch Prize, given by the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures in memory of Erika and Henry Salloch, to the student whose achievement and personal commitment have contributed to the understanding of other cultures: Morgan Lail Phillips

The German Studies Alumni Award, to the senior who, in the opinion of the faculty of Modern Languages, has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and a depth of understanding in the field of German studies: Melissa Gaye Erdman

The William Gover Duvall ’30 Prize, to a graduating senior who, in the judgment of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, has demonstrated outstanding achievement and shows great promise in the field of mathematics: Amanda Anne-Marie Pruzinsky

The Alpha Chi Omega Music Award, to a senior in recognition of excellence in music: Brian Patrick Bucher and Veronica Noël Spolarich

The Department of Philosophy and Religion Award, to a graduating senior or seniors majoring in philosophy, recognizing outstanding ability in, and engagement with, the field of philosophy and religion: James Hoitsma Schelberg and Patrick Thomas Cannon

The Political Science Award, to a graduating major who in the opinion of the Department, demonstrates a superior theoretical and practical understanding of political life: Lindsay Ann Dodd

The Psychology Department Award, to the senior psychology major who shows outstanding promise in the field of psychology: Isabel Diane Derera and Catherine Teves Petrick

The Virginia M. Conner ’85 Psychology Award, to the graduating senior or seniors majoring in psychology who, in the opinion of the Department, have demonstrated outstanding ability and achievement in the biobehavioral sciences: Melanie Lynn McCabe

The Psychology Department Outstanding Achievement Award, to senior psychology majors in recognition of exceptionally high levels of performance in the field of psychology: Courtney Rebecca Burton

Anthropology Award, to the graduating major or majors who, in the opinion of the faculty and students of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, have shown in his or her work exceptional understanding of anthropology and other cultures, past or present: Sarah Janney Hartge and Jamie Skylar Frees

Anthropology Service Award, to the graduating major who demonstrates the greatest dedication to public service in anthropology at Washington College: Alyssa Marie Velazquez

The Margaret Horsley Award, to the graduating major or majors who, in the opinion of the faculty and students of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, have shown in his or her work the clearest understanding of human social behavior: Jesse James Schaefer and Brittany Lyn McWilliams

Sociology Service Award, to the graduating senior who, in the opinion of the Department and its students, has made, through service, the greatest contribution to the sociology program and to Washington College: Jesse James Schaefer

The Holstein Prize for Ethics, to the graduating senior whose senior thesis, in the opinion of the selection committee, best demonstrates an interest in ethics and the application of ethics to his or her area of interest: Beverly Obenewaa Frimpong

The W. Dennis Berry ’87 Leadership Award, to the senior or seniors who most clearly exhibit those characteristics of charismatic leadership that distinguished Mr. Berry’s service to Washington College: Andrew Francis John Antonio

The Karen Kaitz Emerick Award, to one or more senior students, chosen by the Executive Committee of the Student Government Association, who have demonstrated strong character and good academic standing, and who have been leaders in community and volunteer service: Jesse James Schaefer

The Penny J. Fall Award, given annually by the Washington College Student Government Association to the female athlete who most successfully continues, through service to the College, the tradition and legacy set by Professor Fall. The recipient is chosen for her leadership on campus and her ability to conceive, organize and execute academic and extracurricular activities that have benefited the entire Washington College community: Sally Ann O’Donnell

The Jonathan A. Taylor, Jr. Leadership Award,  to the member of the Washington College Student Government Association who diligently and effectively incorporates progressive thought when addressing the needs and demands of the modern collegiate environment: Brittany Alexandra Marshall

The Outstanding Community Service Recognition, awarded to senior students who have committed themselves to community service: Courtney Rebecca Burton,  Stephen Samuel Cook, Daniel James Danko, Jamie Skylar Frees, Sarah Janney Hartge, Laura Kebler Kennedy, Melanie Lynn McCabe, Priyanka Deepak Parikh, Leah Rae Sbriscia, Jesse James Schaefer,  Alyssa Marie Velazquez, Amanda Lyn Whitaker.

Senior Schelberg One of 20 in Nation Named to USA Today's All-USA College Academic Team

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College senior James H. Schelberg has been named to the 2011 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team, an honor bestowed on only 20 undergraduates for their academic and community achievements. Selected from among hundreds of juniors and seniors nominated by their colleges and universities throughout the U.S., Schelberg was judged on criteria that included academic rigor, leadership and intellectual endeavor that benefits society. He received a check for $2,500.

Schelberg, a double major in Humanities and Philosophy who attends Washington College on a Hodson Trust Star Scholarship for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was the only First Team member selected from a small liberal-arts college. The other 19 winners represent state universities that include Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and California at Berkeley, or large private universities such as Johns Hopkins, Emory, Cornell and Rice.

“I can’t imagine anyone more deserving of this recognition or more representative of the best qualities this generation of students has to offer the world,” says Washington College president Mitchell B. Reiss. “The entire Washington College community is proud of what this says about Jim Schelberg, and what his experience says about the value of a liberal-arts education in creating a life of meaning and purpose. He embodies the idea of moral courage.”

Schelberg, a U.S. Marine veteran, was twice deployed into combat overseas, first to Iraq (October 2006 to April 2007) and then to Afghanistan (November 2009 to May 2010), where he served as an infantry corporal. He has maintained a 4.0 grade point average each of his semesters at Washington College. He also has been a member of the Cater Society of Junior Fellows, the College’s flagship academic enrichment program for outstanding scholars; conducted research at the University of Oxford as part of the College’s summer Oxford Research Seminar on Religion, Politics and Culture; taught boxing as founder of the Washington College Mixed Martial Arts Club; and conducted important archival research for the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and the Maryland State Archives.

As part of the application for the All-USA College Academic Team, Schelberg wrote about how the two years of humanities classes he took before deploying to Afghanistan helped him become a “more passionate humanitarian and thoughtful warrior. In the bleak landscapes of the Helmand River Valley, ” he continued, “my experiences of loss, tragedy and violence shaped my understanding of the destructive effects of illiteracy and the opportunities to bring social change through education.”

He saw similar opportunities back home, where wasted intellectual potential is such a devastating force among educationally underserved, low-income males, many of whom end up in prisons. In summer of 2011, Schelberg created and launched a prison outreach program called Partners in Philosophy, which offers courses in philosophy, logic and ethics to inmates of Maryland’s Jessup Correctional Institution. Washington College professors joined him for several of the classes, which ranged from ethical choices in Art History to the teachings of Plato, Buddha and Frederick Douglass. He plans to continue the program this summer.

Those who nominated Schelberg for the All-USA College distinction were pleased but not surprised by the news.  Joseph Prud’homme, assistant professor of political science, has worked closely with Schelberg as one of his academic advisors at Washington College.  “I can say without a doubt that he is the strongest student I have ever worked with as a college professor, here at Washington College, and earlier at Princeton and Harvard,” Prud’homme wrote in his nominating letter.

Prud’homme describes Schelberg as “a brilliant young man, remarkable for his depth of knowledge, his profound creativity and analytical precision, and his passion for community service—traits of character that are deeply rooted, and which his combat service in Afghanistan has fortified and refined. He has an unswerving commitment to the transformative power of education,” Prud’homme adds, “and the importance of critical and reflective thinking for renewing lives and communities.”

Marine Chief Warrant Officer Steve J. Rose, who supervised Schelberg in Iraq’s Anbar Province, saw him tested under the daily stress of combat conditions and was impressed with the younger Marine’s intelligence, character and courage. He described Schelberg’s enthusiasm for learning new cultures and meeting Iraqis and Afghanis, getting to know the fishermen on the Euphrates or the farmers of the Helmand River Valley. In a situation where it is often impossible to tell innocent civilian from enemy combatant, he wrote, “Jim was the first to shake hands, or to laugh with new foreign friends. His caring and compassion for strangers was obvious, and daily he influenced those around him to make personal connections to the civilians they protected. I have seen him lead with courage and the highest professional conduct while under enemy fire in combat. … Jim has seen firsthand the worst of human behavior and responded with the highest human ideals.”

“Jim is a classic humanist: an intellectual who delves into the complexities and ambiguities of human experience, and ponders the nature and limits of our understanding,” says Adam Goodheart, director of Washington College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, where Schelberg is a student associate. “He is also an idealist in the best sense, a person who believes that words and ideas have the power to transform lives – and, indeed, entire societies – for the better.”

Other colleges and universities represented on the 2011 First Team are the U.S. Naval Academy; Arizona State University; the University of California, Irvine; the University of Maine, Orono; Louisiana State University; the University of Iowa; Southern Illinois University; University of Southern California; Georgia Institute of Technology; and Northwestern University. The national newspaper also selected 40 runners-up for a Second and Third team, and 20 honorable mentions.

New York Times Legal Journalist Lincoln Caplan to Discuss Supreme Court Coverage February 28

CHESTERTOWN, MD— Celebrated legal journalist Lincoln Caplan, a member of the editorial board of the New York Times, will share insights gleaned from years of covering the deliberations of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 28 at Washington College.

“Covering the Supreme Court: A Conversation with Lincoln Caplan of the New York Times Editorial Board” is hosted by the C.V. Starr Center for the study of the American Experience, and will begin at 5:00 pm at Center Stage, Hodson Commons (popularly known as The Egg). The event is co-sponsored by the Pre-Law Program and the Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture, and is free and open to the public. It will be presented as an onstage conversation between Caplan and Adam Goodheart, the Starr Center’s Hodson Trust-Griswold Director. Questions from the audience will be welcome.

“Lincoln Caplan is one of the most brilliant legal journalists of our time,” Goodheart said. “For many years, he has enjoyed a front-row view of the Supreme Court, its personalities, and its processes. Few people are better positioned to offer insights into the Court’s recent decisions and future direction.”

In his role at the Times, Caplan drafts the paper’s unsigned editorials on the high court and its decisions. Previously he was the founder and editor of the acclaimed journal Legal Affairs. From 1998 until 2006, he was the Knight Senior Journalist at Yale Law School; he also taught nonfiction writing at the law school and in the Yale University English Department. Caplan holds degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and is a former White House Fellow. He has been a staff writer at the New Republic and The New Yorker, and was an editor at U.S. News & World Report. He is a member of the editorial board of The American Scholar and an adviser to the digital publication The Atavist.

Caplan is the author of five books, including The Insanity Defense and the Trial of John W. Hinckley, Jr., which (as excerpted in The New Yorker) won a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, and Skadden: Power, Money and the Rise of a Legal Empire (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1994), an unprecedented look at the culture of American lawyering. Caplan’s 1987 book, The Tenth Justice: The Solicitor General and the Rule of Law (Alfred A. Knopf), won wide praise as a “lively, instructive” look at one of the least-appreciated offices in American law.

* * *

Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in colonial Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is dedicated to fostering innovative approaches to the American past and present. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, and a special focus on the literary craft of history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between the academic world and the public at large. For more information on the Center, visit http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

Naval Academy's John Beckman to Explore the Social and Cultural Role of American Fun

CHESTERTOWN, MD— American history gives us one good brawl after another: Native Americans fighting Pilgrims; pirates bullying merchants; Patriots bloodying Redcoats’ noses; and scruffy young hotheads – from Kentucky backwoodsmen to Occupy Wall Street protesters – declaring war on elites that wanted them to fall into line.

In a February 13 presentation at Washington College, United States Naval Academy professor John Beckman will share a very different perspective on U.S. history by chronicling the ways that Americans have had fun – sometimes outrageous, even life-threatening fun. Sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and co-sponsored by the Sophie Kerr Committee, Beckman’s talk, “American Fun,” is free and open to the public, and will begin at 5:00 pm in the college’s Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall.

According to Beckman, shared fun has often brought adversaries into harmony and made even the scariest social differences exciting. To adapt Jefferson’s famous phrase, perhaps sharing “the pursuit of happiness” does more to hold society together than we know.

“While it’s often said that a joke explained cannot be funny, John Beckman’s take on history proves otherwise,” says Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center. “In any case, this is sure to be a rollickingly fun event.”

John Beckman is an associate professor of English at the United States Naval Academy, and has taught novel-writing workshops at The Writer’s Center. His first novel, The Winter Zoo (Henry Holt), was a New York Times Notable Book of 2002. Kirkus Reviews praised the book as “potent and deeply disturbing…the work of a most ambitious and unquestionably gifted writer.” Beckman’s stories and essays have appeared in Book Magazine, McSweeney’s Quarterly, the Wallace Stevens Journal, and the Washington Post.

Hodson Trust Awards $2 Million to WC for Scholarships, Faculty Development, Technology

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The Hodson Trust, Washington College’s single largest benefactor, has awarded $2,004,250 in grants to fund scholarships, faculty development and technology upgrades to the school it has supported for more than nine decades.

In announcing receipt of Hodson’s generous annual gift, College President Mitchell B. Reiss explained that more than $1 million is earmarked for the Hodson Trust Merit Scholarship Fund, which provides four-year awards to full-time students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, character and citizenship. Sixty-four current Washington College students receive merit scholarships funded by the Trust. “In this economic climate, these scholarships are vitally important as students and families stretch their resources to meet the cost of a private education,” says Reiss. “The Hodson Trust’s steadfast support in this area is greatly appreciated.”

An additional $44,764 will support ongoing Hodson Trust Star Scholarships for veterans of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Washington College currently has three veterans enrolled under the program.

Professional development for the faculty is another priority traditionally supported by The Hodson Trust. This year’s gift will add $412,500 to the endowment of the Hodson Trust Faculty Development Fund, established last year to fund competitive grants for faculty research, scholarship, seminars and other opportunities for learning and advancement. An additional $37,500 is available to support grant awards in the coming year. “Our gifted faculty, and the myriad ways in which they share their enthusiasm and expertise with our students, is at the heart of our mission,” said Reiss. “By empowering the faculty to stay current and engaged in their subject areas, we can continue to inspire our students to pursue their own passions.”

The 2011 gift also boosts by $200,000 the endowment for the Hodson Trust Chair in Economics, currently held by associate professor Lisa Daniels.

In response to the College’s technology needs, The Hodson Trust has earmarked $300,000 to help pay for upgrades in admissions software and website architecture. Over the next two years the College will implement a new software program for prospective students and introduce a new website design and content management system.

The Hodson Trust’s generous support of Washington College began more than nine decades ago. The Trust was established in 1920 by the family of Colonel Clarence Hodson to benefit four private educational institutions in Maryland: Washington College, Hood College, St. John’s College and The Johns Hopkins University.

Colonel Hodson, who grew up in Somerset County, founded the Beneficial Loan Society, a groundbreaking home mortgage business that grew into a major financial services corporation. An initial investment of $100 grew over the ensuing decades into a trust that has awarded more than $230 million to the four beneficiary institutions. For more information, visit www.hodsontrust.org.

Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences founded in Chestertown in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington. It was the first college chartered in the new nation. To learn more, please visit www.washcoll.edu.

Hodson Trust Awards More Than $4.5 Million to Washington College

Chestertown, MD — Washington College has been awarded more than $4.5 million in grants from the Hodson Trust and the Hodson Scholarship Foundation - among the largest cumulative awards Washington College's largest donor has ever presented to the school.

The gift, totaling $4,614,129, consists of $3,578,759 from the Hodson Trust and $1,035,370 from the Hodson Scholarship Foundation.

"For many decades, the Hodson Trust has played a critical role in the growth of our institution and the success of generations of our students," said Baird Tipson, President of the College. "In addition to building upon existing scholarship endowments, this year's awards herald the start of two new initiatives - scholarship support for Maryland veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and a shared fellowship with the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, the greatest academic library for early Americana. We are grateful for the Hodson Trust's special commitment to four of Maryland's premier independent institutions of higher education." Three other Maryland institutions - Hood College, St. John's College and the Johns Hopkins University - also received Hodson Trust grants.

In its current gift to Washington College, the Trust has designated $78,759 to support the first three Hodson Trust Star Scholarships (awarded to Maryland veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts) and $305,894 to fund current minority and general merit scholarships. The grant also provides a $729,477 addition to the Hodson Scholarship Foundation endowment, $2.5 million to the Hodson Trust Merit Scholarship Endowment, and $1 million to endow a Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Library Fellowship affiliated with Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

The Hodson Trust was established by the family of Colonel Clarence Hodson, founder of the Beneficial Corporation, to support excellence in education. Since 1920, the Hodson Trust has given more than $198.2 million to fund academic merit scholarships as well as research grants, technology improvements, facilities, library expansion, athletic programs, faculty salaries and endowment funds at the four Maryland schools. For information about the Hodson Trust, visit www.hodsontrust.org.

December 5, 2007

WC in USA Today Article about Veterans' Scholarships

Chestertown, MD — USA Today ran a front page article about college scholarships for veterans, and Washington College is included in the story for participation in the Hodson Trust Star Scholarship program. The online version, accessible via the following link, features a photo of Jim Schelberg '11 with his brother (and fellow Marine) in Iraq last December. And check out the photo credit: the picture was taken by Charles Grigg '09.

Read the full story in USA Today.

November 15, 2007

Hodson Trust, Washington College Award Scholarships to Veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan Conflicts

Chestertown, MD, July 31, 2007 — In an effort to honor Maryland military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hodson Trust and Washington College have established the Hodson Trust Star Scholarships. The first three recipients, two from the Iraq conflict and the other from the Afghanistan campaign, will begin classes at Washington College this fall semester.

The undergraduate and graduate scholarships will meet 100 percent of Washington College's annual tuition, room, board, books and mandatory student fees not otherwise met by federal, state and outside assistance.

Washington College's student body this fall will include three young men who, rather than arriving on campus with fresh fond memories of high-school senior year, come to this haven of learning from the tough, grim front lines of a protracted conflict in far-flung parts of the world. Lance Corporal James H. Schelberg, of the 4th U.S. Marine Division's 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, recently returned from service in Haditha, in Iraq's Anbar Province—seat of the insurgent resistance and center of some of the fiercest hostility faced by coalition forces. Arriving from the same theater of operations is Corporal Charles P. Grigg, likewise of the 4th Marine Division. Rounding out the initial three is Wilhelm Gundlach, a Psychological Operations Specialist with Detachment 900 of the U.S. Army's Airborne Rangers, who performed dangerous missions in Afghanistan.

"This is a huge opportunity that the Hodson Trust and Washington College have given me and the other veterans," said Corporal Schelberg, a Baltimore Countian. "I look forward to throwing myself back into the academic community after a few years of being in its absence."

Corporal Grigg, who hails from the Annapolis area, said, "I just want to express my gratitude to the Hodson Trust for providing such a great scholarship. I look forward to attending Washington College to finish my bachelor's degree. I'm especially looking forward to experiencing all the college has to offer, and hope that the experiences I have will help me better serve and influence those around me."

"I'm extremely enthusiastic and excited to be able to study at Washington College," said Specialist Gundlach, a Chestertown resident, "and I'm equally extremely grateful to the Hodson Trust for making this opportunity possible."

Three other Maryland schools—the Johns Hopkins University, Hood College and St. John's College—also are participating in the Hodson Trust Star Scholarship. In addition to Washington College, veteran-recipients currently are slated for Hood College and Johns Hopkins University.

"We are delighted to be able to support these American stars, who have served our country in harm's way and now will contribute even more as they continue their education," said Finn Caspersen, Chairman of the Hodson Trust. "The Hodson Trust is proud of these first scholarship recipients and pleased to assist in repaying our country's debt to these fine servicemen."

"Washington College is honored that these three distinguished young men will join the student body this fall, and grateful to the Hodson Trust for making this wonderful scholarship possible," said Washington College President Baird Tipson.

Washington College is a private, independent liberal arts and sciences college located in historic Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, it was the first college chartered in the new nation.

Hodson Trust Awards $4.5 Million to Washington College for Scholarships, American History Center

Chestertown, MD, November 30, 2006 — Washington College has been awarded $4.5 million in grants from The Hodson Trust to augment merit scholarship funds and to support the College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, officials of the College have announced.

"We know the importance of understanding our history to build our future," Washington College President Baird Tipson said. "The Hodson Trust support will enable us to keep those lessons alive on our campus and in our nation as we educate tomorrow's leaders."

In its current grant to Washington College, The Trust has designated $1 million to augment the Hodson Trust Merit Scholarship Endowment, which provides four-year awards to full-time students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, character, and citizenship. An additional $3.5 million will endow the Hodson Trust-Griswold Directorship and programming for the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, which opened in 2000. Drawing on the special historical strengths of Washington College and Chestertown, the C.V. Starr Center is dedicated to scholarship and programming that explore the nation's founding era, the early republic, the rise of democracy, and the manifold ways in which the founding era continues to shape American culture.

"The Hodson Trust's generosity will make possible a host of new initiatives to benefit the students and faculty of Washington College, and to advance the Center's programs to a new level of excellence," said Adam Goodheart, the Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. "It is exceptionally fitting that this gift also honors Jay Griswold, who has been a valued friend, benefactor, and counselor to the Starr Center since its inception. He can truly be called one of our chief 'Founding Fathers,' and I am honored that the directorship now bears his name and that of the Hodson Trust."

Jack S. "Jay" Griswold is Director and Senior Advisor of Brown Investment Advisory Trust Company, a money management firm. A 1964 graduate of Princeton who earned an MBA from The Wharton School of Finance in 1969, Mr. Griswold is a Director of Alex. Brown Realty and of Chevy Chase Bank, a trustee of Living Classrooms and the Maryland Historical Society and the Chairman of Washington College's Board of Visitors and Governors.

Adam Goodheart, who assumes the title of Hodson-Trust Griswold Director, was appointed director of the C.V. Starr Center in July 2006. A prolific essayist, critic, and historian, he publishes frequent articles in the New York Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and other publications. A graduate of Harvard University, he was a founding editor of Civilization Magazine and a member of the editorial board of The American Scholar.

One of the Starr Center's new initiatives made possible by the Hodson gift will be a program of faculty enhancement grants for research in American history, culture, politics, and related areas. "The Center's support of research conducted by Washington College faculty is important to its mission of strengthening the intellectual climate of the College and building bridges between the campus and the external community," said Christopher Ames, Provost and Dean of the Faculty. "These funds will supplement existing funds for faculty research and move us closer toward the goal in our strategic plan of doubling the funds available for faculty enhancement and travel." Goodheart added that the Starr Center is also working with faculty and admissions staff to create a special merit-scholarship program for outstanding students of American history and related fields.

The Hodson Trust was established by the family of Colonel Clarence Hodson to support excellence in education. Since 1920, The Hodson Trust has given more than $184 million to fund academic merit scholarships as well as research grants, technology improvements, facilities, library expansion, athletic programs, faculty salaries, and endowment funds at Johns Hopkins University, Hood, St. John's and Washington Colleges.

In addition to its latest Washington College gift, the Trust this week also awarded $4.5 million each to St. John's, Hood, and Johns Hopkins. Hodson Trust Chairman Finn M. W. Caspersen pointed out that these grants are the largest in the Trust's 86-year history. "The impact of the Hodson Trust's support is exponential—reflected not only in the accomplishments of the generations of students the Trust has supported, but also in the ever growing contributions of these students to society."

Colonel Clarence Hodson, who grew up in Maryland, believed that credit should be available to the average American, a revolutionary idea in 1914 when he founded the Beneficial Loan Society. Beneficial, which became one of the nation's most successful corporations, was headed by Caspersen from 1976 to 1998 and is now part of HSBC. During Caspersen's tenure, the market capitalization of Beneficial Corporation grew from $480 million to $8.8 billion, an 18-fold increase.

For information about The Hodson Trust, visit www.hodsontrust.org. Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in historic Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, it was the first college chartered in the new nation.

Gift Establishes Alex. Brown Student Investment Program at Washington College

Fund Gives Undergrads Opportunity to Do "Real-World" Investing

Chestertown, MD, March 6, 2006 — Jim Price, former partner and managing director of Alex. Brown and a Trustee Emeritus of Washington College, and his wife Midge have donated $500,000 to the College to establish the Alex. Brown Student Investment Program. The program—one of only 135 such investment funds at colleges around the country—will enable undergraduate students studying business management to learn first-hand about investment strategies and working capital markets.

"When I finished college, I had no real-world knowledge of the investment world," said Price. "It was learning on the job. When I joined Alex. Brown & Sons, I had great mentors but, as I look back, I always wished I had started with more knowledge of investments."

The $500,000 gift will form the corpus of a new fund to be invested, monitored, and reported on by a select group of Washington College business management majors under the guidance of faculty and a fund advisory board. The students will gain this experience as part of a new course on capital markets and investment strategies that will include regular presentations by industry leaders and coursework on business ethics.

"By adding real-world connections, this incredible gift transforms how Washington College students learn about finance and investing," said Professor Michael Harvey, Chair of the Business Management Department. "The program makes it possible for our undergraduates to take on multi-million-dollar responsibilities, to learn by doing and to experience first-hand the complexities of investing and financial decision-making in today's markets. It's a large set of responsibilities, but I'm confident our students are up to it."

Price hopes that the course will not only impart academic knowledge but career advantages as well.

"Our students should arrive in the business world with the edge we want all Washington College graduates to have," he added.

In addition to his belief in the value of student investment programs, Price wants his gift to memorialize the name of Alex. Brown at Washington College. The two institutions share a long, rich history in the state of Maryland. Alex. Brown, the oldest investment banking firm in the country, was founded in Baltimore in 1800—just 18 years after Washington College was established in Chestertown—and the firm maintained its headquarters in Baltimore for nearly 200 years. Following in his father's footsteps, Price joined the firm in 1952 and retired in 1996. After graduating from Washington College, his son Jon Price, Class of 1980, also started his career at Alex. Brown and now works for Brown Advisory and Trust, a spin-off of Alex. Brown. Both Price and the College's current Board Chairman, Jay Griswold, have served as trustees of Washington College.

Price has invited former partners and associates of Alex. Brown to support the student investment program, and he anticipates a strong response.

"Some of my former Alex. Brown partners will be joining me in this project, and The Hodson Trust has agreed to match my gift and other monies that are contributed up to $1 million."

The Hodson Trust's matching gifts will be invested in the College's endowment, with earnings used to offset faculty compensation, speaker fees, and other costs associated with this new program.

Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in historic Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, it was the first college chartered in the new nation.