 |
|
| Presidential Connections |
| Fast Facts |
 |
GW students are named among the "Most Politically Active" by the 2009 Princeton Review.
|
|
GW is the only university chosen to feature a float in the 2009 Inaugural Parade. In 1949, alumnus Pete Simmons created GW’s first float chosen for the Presidential Inaugural Parade. He later went on to be part of the team that created the Hubble Space Telescope. Sixty years later, he has inspired GW's parade float design.
|
|
In 1993, GW served as the Press Center for the Inauguration of President Clinton and Vice President Gore.
|
|
Since it began in 1993, GW’s Inaugural Ball has become one of the most popular political traditions at the University. Billed as the “Unofficial Youth Ball” of Washington, D.C., the black-tie invited event will draw 5,200 guests to the Omni Shoreham Hotel Jan. 20.
|
|
With the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, The George Washington University will hold its university-wide Commencement on the National Mall on Sunday, May 20, 2009.
|
|
From 1992 through 2005, GW held its Commencement on the Ellipse, with views of the White House and the Washington Monument.
|
|
During the University’s first graduation ceremony, three graduates were joined by General Marquis de Lafayette, President James Monroe, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, Speaker of the House Henry Clay, members of the Cabinet, the Justices of the Supreme Court, Ministers from foreign powers, and many members of Congress.
|
|
| Official Inaugural Medals |
|
| The Obama Administration |
| Eric Holder, Jr., was appointed attorney general. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1998, was a GW Trustee from 1996-1997, and was a member of the GW Homeland Security Policy Institute Steering Committee. Mary Schapiro, J.D. ’80, is appointed chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Robert Hale, M.B.A. ’76, is nominated as the comptroller of the Department of Defense.
Sudafi Henry, J.D. ’02, will serve as the director of legislative affairs for Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
Stephen G. Burns, J.D. '78, has been named the new General Counsel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kenneth E. Melson, J.D. '73, professional lecturer of law, was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to serve as acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Mary DeRosa, J.D. '84, has been named as deputy counsel to the president for National Security Affairs and legal adviser to the National Security Council.
Frank O. Mora, B.A. '87, has been tapped to serve as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the western hemisphere overseeing Latin American and Caribbean operations.
Tammy Duckworth, M.A. ’92, was nominated to be assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs.
William Gunn, LL.M. '94, will serve as General Counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Elliot Gillerman, B.A. '08, is a special assistant for the National Security Transition Team.
Susan S. Sher, B.A. ’70, will serve as chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama.
Moira Mack Muntz , B.A. '03, served as deputy national press secretary for Obama's presidential campaign and named Regional Communications Director for the White House.
Lori Garver, M.A. '89, was named deputy administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Greg Schaffer, B.A. '85, is appointed as Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Kathy Newcomer, the associate director of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, was one of five fellows chosen to brief the transition team that was charged with management and performance on leading change.
Christopher A. Kojm, professor of the practice of international affairs, has been appointed to be the next chairman of the National Intelligence Council. He also served on the national security transition team tasked with facilitating the Senate confirmation process for President Obama's intelligence nominees.
David Michaels, research rofessor of environmental occoupational health, has been appointed to be the Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the Department of Labor.
Phyllis Borzi, research professor in the School of Public Health and Health Services' department of health policy, is conducting the agency review of the Employee Benefits Security Administration for the transition team.
Spencer Overton, professor of law, serves on the Justice and Civil Rights Agency Review Team for the transition team.
Robert O. Work, professorial lecturer at GW's Elliott School of International Affairs and a senior defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, is the undersecretary of the Navy.
|
|
| Presidential Inauguration |
| Colin Powell, M.B.A ’71, is the honorary co-chair for the Inauguration. Powell also received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree in 1990.
Elizabeth Alexander, daughter of GW professor of history Adele Alexander, was chosen as the Inaugural Poet.
Rev. Joseph Lowery, who received GW's Martin Luther King, Jr., Award in 1990, which recognizes individuals for their dedication to public service and outstanding leadership, will deliver the official benediction at the Inauguration.
Natalie Bookey, B.A. ’06, serves on the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
David Ceasar, B.A. ’07, M.A. ’08, serves on the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Fiona Conroy, B.A. '04, M.A. '06, is the creative coordinator for the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Jennifer Griffith, M.P.P. ’97, is the No. 2 staffer for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies.
Graduate student Alex Sanchez works for the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Dan Secatore, B.A. ’07, serves on the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Omar Woodard, B.A. '05, M.A. '07, is a transportation assistant for the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
GW Law Associate Dean Alfreda Robinson and GW Law Students to Work as Official Inaugural Volunteers.
|
|
|
Obama's Election Campaign |
| Larkin Barker, B.A. ’06, served as the deputy communications director on the Obama for America staff in New Hampshire.
Josh Fields, B.A. ’01, was the spokesman for Obama’s campaign in Washington state.
Stephen Goepfert, B.A. ’08, is a field organizer for New Hampshire’s Democratic Party and was an Obama staffer during the campaign.
Jenni Lee, B.A. ’04, worked as a spokesperson for Obama for America in Iowa.
Senior Kyle Lierman was a field organizer for Obama’s campaign in Virginia.
Senior Matt Lubin worked in the research department at the Democratic National Convention headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Aaron Myers, B.A. ’00, was the director of online communications for the Democratic National Convention Committee.
Joe Rospars, B.A. ’03, was the new media director for Obama for America.
T. Neil Sroka, B.A. ’05, was the new media director at the Obama for America office in South Carolina.
Senior Tobin Van Ostern served as national co-director for Students for Barack Obama.
Junior Peter Weiss worked as a deputy field organizer for Obama’s campaign in Ohio.
|
|
| First Family Connections |
| From Commencement to keynote speeches, The George Washington University has drawn many presidents and their families to the University throughout its 188-year history.
In 1929, President Calvin Coolidge addressed graduates of the Law School.
President Harry S Truman was a Commencement speaker in 1946, the same year his daughter Margaret graduated from GW with a bachelor’s degree in history.
Former First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis received a bachelor’s degree in French literature from GW in 1951. A GW residence hall now bears her name.
President John F. Kennedy spoke in 1961 during the Inauguration of GW President Thomas Carroll and received an honorary Juris Doctorate degree.
During the University convocation in 1964, President Dwight D. Eisenhower received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree.
President Ronald Reagan received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree in 1991. That same year, The Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine at GW Medical Center was established in recognition of both the undisputed excellence of the Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine and its role in saving the life of President Reagan after a 1981 assassination attempt.
In 1994, former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was the keynote speaker for GW’s Commencement on the Ellipse.
President George W. Bush spoke about the Iraq war in March 2006.
In 2006, former President George Herbert Walker Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush delivered their first joint Commencement address, and each received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree lauding their decades of contributions to America and the world.
Including Margaret Truman, three children of U.S. president’s have attended GW, as well as one grandchild.
|
|
| Alumni in Congress |
Fourteen fellow Colonials currently serve in the 111th U.S. Congress.
- U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), B.A. ’77
- Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR), J.D. ’84
- U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA), M.H.S.A. ’98
- U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), B.A. ’85
- U.S. Del. Donna Christensen (D-VI), M.D. ’70
- U.S. Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-TN), J.D. ’73
- U.S. Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY), B.B.A. ’66
- U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), B.A. ’81
- U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX), M.S. ’74
- U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), B.S. ’63
- U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), J.D. ’85
- U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), M.B.A. ’75
- U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), J.D. ’52
- U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), J.D. ’64
|
|
| Contact Us |
| Know additional connections to the Obama administration? Contact:
Matt Lindsay
(202) 994-0487
mlindsay@gwu.edu
Thai Phi Stone
(202) 994-6424
tpstone@gwu.edu
|
|
| |
|
|