At its annual Fall convocation ceremony Friday, the University recognized 344 third-year University students in the top 20 percent of their class. Two professors were also awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award — the University’s highest honor for faculty.
Students from the College, the Engineering School, the Nursing School and the Architecture School — the University schools with first- and second-year undergraduates — were eligible to receive the honor if they took a full course load during their first two years at the University.
Chemistry was the number one major represented from the College among the recipients, and Computer Science was the most represented major from the Engineering school. The honorees come from 27 states and 22 countries. Forty-seven percent of the award’s recipients were from the College, 23 percent of whom are now Commerce School students.
Twenty-five percent of the recipients were from the Engineering School, 11 percent were Architecture students and 2 percent were Nursing students.
Executive Vice President and Provost John Simon was the event’s keynote speaker. Focusing on the University’s global mission, he urged students to maintain themselves as “lifelong learners and to engage the world.”
The University also awarded two Thomas Jefferson Awards, one each to Politics Prof. William Quandt and to Patricia Lampkin, chief student affairs officer and vice president.
The first award recognizes excellence in scholarship, and the second acknowledges excellence in service.
Quandt is a leading expert on the Arab-Israeli conflict, played a key role at the Egyptian-Israeli peace negotiations at Camp David in 1979, served on the National Security Council and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute.
University President Teresa Sullivan recognized Lampkin’s continual compassion and dedication to University students throughout her career. “No hurt or need is too small for her attention, and her council is wise, emphatic and always sound,” Sullivan said. “Through hard times in student lives, she remains calm, supportive, and optimistic.”
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