|
Alumni Service Award Winners
The following alumni of George Mason University have been recognized with the Alumni Service Award because they have shown outstanding service to the university and the community, and in doing so brings honor to the Alumni Association.
2008
|
Penny C. Welke
BIS ’82 and JD ’85,
While in her mid-30s, Penny C. Welke started working as a paralegal. She had always wanted to return to college and complete her bachelor’s degree, but thought that was unlikely.
When she became interested in pursuing law as a career, it was her boss, attorney Jack Crickenberger, who told her about the law reader program, recognized by the Virginia Bar Association. She began reading law and concurrently enrolled at Mason to finish her degree.
After completing a BIS degree in 1982, Welke enrolled in Mason’s School of Law in addition to the reading program. On completing law reading, she took and passed the bar exam in 1984, a year before earning her JD. Now her former boss is her business partner, and she has an active practice in family law, wills, estates, and trusts at Crickenberger & Associates in Fairfax City.
Beyond her law practice, Welke is a professional harpist and sings with choirs and a quartet at her church. She has served Mason in a variety of roles as a member of the Alumni Campaign Steering Committee, cochair of the Annual Fund Committee, vice president of the Alumni Association, charter member of the Legacy Society, and a member of the President’s Circle.
“Everyone needs someone who tells him or her, ‘You can do it!’” she says. “If my educational experiences can serve as an example to others, then that would be great.” |
2007 |
Bruce and Mariann Johnson
Bruce: BS Biology '70; Mariann: BS Biology '71 |
| |
Bruce and Mariann Johnson have enthusiastically supported numerous university functions and fund-raising events for more than 25 years. Bruce has served on the George Mason University Foundation Board of Trustees and as a member of the Finance Committee, along with other volunteer positions. Mariann has been a member of the Mason Scholars Committee, Friends of Dance Advisory Board, and the Mason Scholars Selection Committee, and was a founding member of the Chi Omega Sorority at Mason. The Johnsons earned their medical degrees from the Medical College of Virginia. Bruce is an obstetrician and gynecologist in Richmond and a clinical instructor at the Medical College of Virginia. He is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Medical Society of Virginia, the Richmond Academy of Medicine, the Richmond OB/GYN Society, and the H. Hundall Ware Jr. Society. A retired family practice physician, Mariann is a clinician for the Virginia Department of Health, a member of the Lieutenant Governor's Panel on Health Reform, a member of the Medical Society of Virginia, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Richmond Ballet, and the Patrons Board for the Collegiate Schools in Richmond. |
2006 |
James Laychak
BS Accounting '83; BS Decision Science '83 |
| |
James Laychak is an associate partner with Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company. Laychak has been with Accenture for more than 20 years, working for 2 years in the accounting and audit practice of what was then Arthur Andersen & Company and spending the remaining 18 years working in the consulting business. He is based in Accenture's Washington, D.C., Metro Office, working as a program manager and change architect for business transformation programs with some of Accenture's larger clients and serving as deputy program manager for the Customer Relationship Management Program at the Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. He helped establish the Andersen Consulting Scholarship for a graduate student in Mason's School of Management in 1995 and personally created the Patricia Holloran Laychak Memorial Scholarship Endowment named for his mother in 2003. His extensive list of volunteer activities at Mason includes serving as chair of the 1995-96 Annual Fund Committee, cochair of the 1996-97 Annual Fund Committee, and chair of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution Partnership Team from 1997 until 2000. He also served on the Century Club (now the Business Alliance of George Mason University) Board of Directors. The Alumni Association greatly benefited from his leadership while he served as vice president of service from 1997 to 2000, president from 2000 to 2002, and past president from 2002 to 2003. He also served on the Alumni Campaign Steering Committee from 2002 through 2005. Laychak's volunteerism extends beyond Mason's campuses. His work as president and chair of the board of directors of the Pentagon Memorial Fund honors his brother, David, an army civilian who worked in the Pentagon and was killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. |
2005 |
Alan Harbitter
PhD Computer Science '02 |
| |
Alan Harbitter received his PhD in Computer Science from Mason in 2002. Mr. Harbitter is the chief technology officer, corporate secretary, and director at PEC Solutions, a company he cofounded in 1985. In addition, he is founding chair of the Washington Area Chief Technology Officers' Roundtable; chair of the University of Maryland College of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences Board of Visitors; and treasurer/trustee of the Arc Foundation of Northern Virginia. He has led many high-level strategy, analysis, and decision support projects for major government information technology programs. Currently at Mason he serves on the Advisory Council for the School of Information Technology and Engineering. Mr. Harbitter and his family have endowed an undergraduate scholarship in the Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering and a separate undergraduate scholarship established by PEC Solutions, and Mason is the beneficiary of a charitable lead trust that he and his wife, Lisa, have established. He has been described as a successful entrepreneur who cares deeply for his community. |
2004 |
Barbara Parker Granieri
BFA Dance '98 |
| |
Ms. Granieri received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance in 1998. Since her graduation she has offered outstanding leadership to the university serving as the executive director of Friends of George Mason Dance, a fund-raising organization designed to raise scholarship funds for incoming Dance Department students. Currently working at Wolf Trap, she has provided guest lectures to graduating classes, resume review for undergraduates, as well as numerous internship opportunities and master classes. Ms. Granieri is being recognized tonight for her continuous service to GMU students, the Dance Department, and the university. |
2003 |
Jennifer A. Hess
JD '95 |
2002 |
Carolyn A. Taylor
BSN Nursing '78
MSN Nursing '86 |
2001 |
Craig B. Young
JD '82 |
2000 |
Joseph A. Heastie
MPA '84 |
1999 |
Juliana Kuo
MA Music '95 |
1998 |
Lisa A. Mayne
JD '85 |
1997 |
Lucy Canary Church
BIS Individualized Studies '81
MPA '86 |
1996 |
George W. Johnson
Former George Mason University President
Awarded as Golden Medallion Award |
1995 |
Doris H. Kidwell
BS Business Administration '75
MS Taxation '92 |
1994 |
Brian C. Drummond
JD '88 |
1993 |
Scott McGeary
JD '82 |
1992 |
Donna Mills
|
1991 |
Eileen Feuerbach
BA Psychology '80
MA Psychology '82 |
1990 |
Jonathan C. Thacher
JD '80 |
1989 |
Mark W. Bisbee
BS Business Administration '79 |
|
