By day, Donald R. Lehman serves as executive vice president for academic affairs. By night, he bowls—or at least his caricature does.
On May 7, Dr. Lehman was inducted into GW’s Wall of Fame along with Director of Student Involvement Bridgette Behling; Director of GW Leadership Programs Grace Henry; Professor of Special Education Amy Mazur, B.A. ’71, M.A. ’74, Ed.D. ’77; and GW seniors Shakir Cannon-Moye, Emma Geller and Tiffany Meehan.
Dr. Lehman said he has considered himself “very lucky” to be at the university since he was accepted as a part-time doctoral student in GW’s Physics Department in 1965. Remarking that he has been a student, faculty member and an administrator at GW, Dr. Lehman said it was “almost overwhelming” to think about his upcoming retirement this fall after 45 years at the university.
“It’s been a privilege to educate students—I’ve probably taught thousands of students over the years—and then more recently to spend 17 years in the administration, having the ability and opportunity to work with an outstanding group of colleagues in all different facets of the university,” said Dr. Lehman. “All I can say is that I will never be disconnected and I will never forget this honor, because it was a complete surprise.”
Approximately 150 George Washington staff, students and faculty are captured in caricatures on the university’s Wall of Fame, located on the fifth floor of the Marvin Center outside the Hippodrome. The wall was introduced in 2000 as a way “to honor the men and women who as students, staff or faculty provided leadership and service, and contributed to the quality of student life at the George Washington University.” Inductees choose how they want to be depicted, and, for the past five years, the caricatures have been drawn by local artist Marcia Klioze Hughes.
Another longtime Colonial, Dr. Mazur said she considers GW her “home” since she first enrolled as a student in the late 1960s. “My experiences here have provided me with a venue for challenging my own beliefs and defining what would become my core values, my life’s love and my professional agenda,” says Dr. Mazur. “I have had the support of distinguished colleagues, teachers and mentors, many whose images stand before us today on these very walls.”
At the ceremony, University Marshal Jill Kasle and Managing Director of the Marvin Center and University Conferences David Synan presented the caricatures to the inductees, who were escorted to the podium by their nominators.
In his remarks, Robert A. Chernak, Ed.D. ’97, senior vice president of student and academic support services and a 2002 Wall of Fame honoree, congratulated the recipients on this “special occasion.” “This is an opportunity to recognize individuals in our community who have really done an awful lot to enhance the reputation and prestige of this institution and to make the quality of life for students very special,” said Dr. Chernak.
Previous honorees include former president Stephen Joel Trachtenberg; professors Honey Nashman and Richard Zamoff; Laura Taddeucci Downs, president of the GW Alumni Association; Louis Katz, executive vice president and treasurer; and former Student Association presidents Nicole Capp and Omar Woodard.