Category: Summer 2021

The Harvey B. Morgan Public Service Award is presented annually to a graduating senior who has successfully completed the requirements of the Public Service Program at Hampden-Sydney College, who has demonstrated an interest in public service at the local or state level, and whose integrity and excellence of character reflect those qualities as evidenced in the life of Harvey B. Morgan ‘52.

Congratulations to the 2020 recipient, Kevin Canny ’21. Kevin was a top student and very active during his time at the College.  He earned a Harrison Merit Scholarship; served as the single student representative on the Academic Affairs Committee; member of the Garnett and Grey Society; Vice President of the Rotoract Club; a Rhetoric Studio Consultant;  a member of the Martin Leadership Program as a Freshman; founded the Alexander Hamilton Society (a student group dedicated to studying and preparing for careers in national security); interned at the White House; and was elected into the following academic honor societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Phi Sigma Iota. After a summer internship with the DIA, Kevin plans to pursue a career as either a civil servant or political appointee within the federal government.

Each year the James Y. Simms National Security Studies Award is presented to a graduating senior who has excelled in the field of national security studies, completed the requirements of the National Security Studies minor at Hampden-Sydney College; who has demonstrated leadership and service; and whose integrity and excellence of character reflect those qualities as evidenced in the life of James Y. Simms.

Congratulations to the 2020 award recipient, Christopher Thompson ’21.  Christopher was also a top student and very active during his time at the College.  He earned a Harrison Merit Scholarship; served as a student court investigator; completed both the Martin Leadership Program and the Society of ’91 Leadership programs; was President of the Rugby Club; founded the YMCA Congress Club at Hampden-Sydney; interned at the FBI; and was selected into the following academic honor societies: Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Phi Alpha Theta.  Chris plans to serve as a Management Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton after graduation.

Congratulations to both of these outstanding young men.  You exemplify the best of our student body—we know you will lead meaningful lives of service.

Since last reporting, the processing of the Samuel Vaughan Wilson Papers is finishing up. All photographs and documents have been placed in acid-free folders and boxes. Dr. Colin Woodward, the Project Archivist, has organized the collection at the folder level to allow for easy access to materials. He has also compiled an extensive and detailed finding aid that he will upload to ArchivesSpace, Hampden-Sydney’s online archival catalog.

Researchers can view the finding aid on the internet through the new Archives & Special Collections library portal. The finding aid will also be made available as a downloadable PDF file. The finished finding aid will be approximately 300 pages long, with a detailed breakdown of all items in the collection and where they are located.

The collection, which numbers 307 boxes, is organized into various series covering major portions of Sam’s life and career, with materials organized chronologically within each series. The papers begin with Wilson family genealogical material before moving into Sam’s early military career, including his time in Merrill’s Marauder’s during World War II, his Cold War era intelligence work, and his time as an advisor and commander in Vietnam. Sam’s papers include thousands of letters, military records, and photographs as well as Sam’s speeches, personal writings, and family correspondence. Known as the Samuel Vaughan Wilson Papers, this collection is the centerpiece of the newly created Hampden-Sydney College Archives & Special Collections.

In April, the Esther Thomas Atkinson Museum opened an exhibit dedicated to General Wilson. The exhibit contains photographs and memorabilia chosen by Dr. Woodward for the exhibit. Among the items on display are Sam’s desk and Special Forces uniform, as well as many photographs from his life and career. Angela Way, director and curator of the Atkinson Museum, worked together with Dr. Woodward, Richard McClintock, and student assistants to put the exhibit together. The exhibit is free and open to the public and will run through the end of the fall semester.

In April, Colin Woodward and Ryan Pemberton held an online Q&A session to discuss the Wilson collection. The session was well attended, with many people viewing the discussion virtually. Ryan and Colin talked for about an hour, discussing General Wilson’s life and the processing of the collection.  In late May, Dr. Woodward is driving to meet Colonel Sam Wilson, Jr. at his home in New Jersey. Sam Jr. has additional books, maps, and archival material that he wishes to donate to the Hampden-Sydney College Archives & Special Collections. Colin will integrate the new material into the collection before the project concludes in June.  

In spite of the ongoing pandemic and our inability to host lectures, talks and symposia, the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest, in conjunction with the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement, held seven virtual talks for the greater community this spring. Our alumni registered in droves for the Zoom talks!  We averaged 75-80 participants for each session and are excited to have engaged with so many alumni, parents, and friends. We plan to provide a streaming option for our in-person talks this fall.  

We began the semester with a fireside conversation with Dr. John Hillen, Wheat Professor of Leadership, and a panel of Wilson Center Faculty Fellows.  Dr. Jennifer Vitale, Dr. Viktoria Basham, and Dr. Hillen, both Wilson Center Faculty Fellows, discussed the need to teach leadership across time, discipline, and culture.  As fellows, they each restructured a course to include leadership theory offered to freshmen in the Wilson Leadership Fellows program.  Both Fellows also help connect the academic and co-curricular offerings at the Wilson Center to faculty across multiple disciplines on campus. Dr. Hillen followed up this talk with a presentation later in the semester entitled, “The Quest for Trust: Institutional Leadership and the Rebuilding of Confidence in American Institutions”. 

In collaboration with the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Wilson Center hosted a talk with Sekou Kaalund ’97 to celebrate Black History Month.  Kaalund currently serves as head of Consumer Banking for the Northeast Division at Chase.  He previously led the Advancing Black Pathways Initiative at Chase-a $30 billion effort to combine the company’s business and philanthropic resources to focus on helping people of color realize their dreams through home ownership, increased savings and investments, entrepreneurial endeavors, and access to well-paying career paths.

Postponed by the ice storm, we held President’s Day 2021 in March.  Noted historian at the University of Texas, Dr. H. W. Brands, gave an informative talk about the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.

Adam Christensen ’16 spoke about his exciting run as the Democratic nominee for Florida’s 3^rd Congressional District.

In late March, we held a panel discussion on leadership in K-12 education.  Our panelists were alumni who currently lead independent and public schools.   Special thank you to the Rev. Dr. Anthony Sgro ’88, Asheville School, Timothy Beatty ‘97, Heritage HS in Lynchburg, and Harrison Stuart ’02, Episcopal School of Nashville, for their participation.

Dr. Colin Woodward led our final talk of the semester.  Dr. Woodward began working at Hampden-Sydney in 2019 as the Archivist for the LTG Samuel V. Wilson Collection.  Dr. Woodward spent the past two years organizing, cataloging, and digitizing the boxes of personal items donated to Hampden-Sydney College by General Wilson’s family.  More about this special and meaningful collection appears later in the newsletter.