2004 Awards Story

On Friday, April 30, The Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest honored outstanding students and alumni.  The Wilson Center for Leadership, now in its 7th year, is named for Lt. Gen. Samuel Vaughan Wilson who first provided the impetus and direction needed to begin the work of the Center.

Each year, the Wilson Center for Leadership presents awards for two very different, yet ultimately related, types of recipients.  The first awards are the Patrick Henry Awards and are traditionally given to alumni of Hampden-Sydney College.  The awards are given annually to individuals whose lives of public service are deserving of high praise and recognition.

The second awards are given to the graduating seniors who have successfully completed the requirements of the Public Service Program at Hampden-Sydney College. The students who have participated in this two-year concentration of classes, internship, and research are seriously considering careers that would involve them in public service.  In addition, the Harvey B. Morgan Award is also presented.

The Patrick Henry Awards for 2004
H. Stetson Tinkham graduated from Hampden-Sydney in 1967 with a major in Biology.  He is a member of the Chi Phi fraternity as well as Pi Delta Epsilon.  He was news editor of The Tiger.  He attended Officer Candidate School and served in the U.S. Army, first in Germany and then in Vietnam.  He has observed that service to his country as an officer strengthened his resolve to serve others, through involvement in the affairs of our government and of his church.

In March of this year, Tinkham became Deputy Director of the Office of Marine Conservation at the Department of State.  Prior to this, he was Senior Atlantic Fisheries Officer in the Office of Marine Conservation where he was responsible for global and Pacific-rim fishery policies.  Before this he spent 14 years with the U.S. Commerce Department.  He has served as a U.S. negotiator, the head of delegation or senior staff member on a variety of bilateral and multilateral fisheries negotiations.  In recent years he has represented the United States at the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) meetings.  In this role, he helped to draft a plan of action to deal with illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing in Sydney, Australia.  He is a major international figure in his field.

Dr. Carroll Alexander Cloninger graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1961.  Prior to attending Hampden Sydney, he served two years in the U.S. Army, where he was a high-speed radio operator.  While at Hampden Sydney he was a member of Theta Chi and Omicron Delta Kappa, and the editor of The Tiger.  In 1961, he was awarded the Rosewell Pope Public Speaking Prize.  Upon graduation, he pursued his education at the University of Virginia, obtaining his Master's Degree in Education in 1963.

Dr. Cloninger has devoted his lifetime to public education in the Henrico County School System.  From 1961 - 1968 he served as an 8th grade English teacher, guidance counselor, and assistant principal.  Following an educational sabbatical, during which he obtained his Doctor's Degree in Education, he became the Director of Secondary Education in 1970.  This led to subsequent appointments as Assistant Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent.  In 1981 he became Principal of Henrico High School.  From 1987, until he retired in 1991, he served as a Research Specialist in the Henrico Superintendent's office.

During his tenure in Henrico, Dr. Cloninger chaired numerous evaluation committees for Virginia secondary schools and taught classes at Smithdale-Massey Business College, UVA, VCU, and the University of Richmond.

In his own words, "My 30 years of educational employment have been focused on helping students to learn, helping teachers to help students to learn, and at times helping administrators to help teachers to help students to learn."

After 10 years of retirement, Dr. Cloninger was again pressed into service as an administrator with the King and Queen County School System.  His dedication to public education is evident in the fact that he permitted what was to be a one-month appointment to stretch into many months.

W. Robert Eason, Sr. graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1940.  While at Hampden-Sydney, he participated in baseball, football, basketball, and track and was a member of Kappa Alpha and Omicron Delta Kappa.

After college he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program, and was awarded 2nd Lt. Commission and Silver Wings in April of 1942.  He soon became the operations officer for the 29th Fighter Squadron and spent nearly two years in Panama.  Two years later he was assigned to the 1st Fighter Squadron of the 2nd Air Commando Group and was sent to Burma to aid the British in fighting the Japanese.  Mr. Eason's Air Commandos conducted the longest fighter sweeps of the War - two 1600-mile roundtrips from their base.  In all, he flew 63 missions and 263 combat hours, and was credited with destroying seven enemy planes on the ground.

In March 1945, Mr. Eason displayed exceptional bravery by rescuing his Group Commander 200 miles behind enemy lines during a raid near Rangoon.  For this, he received a Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Distinguished Unit Citation.  The 2nd Air Commando Group's two fighter squadrons were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for the two long-range fighter sweeps deep into Thailand.

After his four years of active duty, he continued as an Air Force Reservist for 26 years, retiring in 1972 with the rank of Colonel and was awarded Command Pilot Wings.  He was a teacher and coach at Woodberry Forest School from 1955-69.  During this time he received his Master's Degree in Education from the University of Virginia.  He became Associate Headmaster at Blue Ridge School in 1969, retiring in 1983.

Bob was elected into the Air Commando Hall of Fame in 1994, and he was inducted into the Hampden-Sydney College Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Public Service Certificates

Matt G. Anderson completed his internship with the J.W. Fulbright Commission in Prague, Czech Republic.  His research topic was "NATO in the Twenty-First Century."

R. Michael Birch interned in the Office of Jerry Dockham, Republican - 94th District of the North Carolina General Assembly, in Raleigh.  He did his research on "The North Carolina Death Penalty Moratorium Debate."

Nicholas R. Camara interned in the European Office of the Virginia Port Authority, in Brussels, Belgium.  His research paper topic was "Great Britain and the Euro."

James R. Foster did his internship in the office of the Regional Swing Program, National Republican Senatorial Committee, located in the Ronald Reagan Republican Center in Washington, D.C.  His research paper was on Campaign Finance Reform.

Matthew S. Hartman's internship was in the Office of the Secretary General of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform (ELDR) Party, which is in the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.  His research project was called, "An Awkward Partnership: Britain and the European Union."

Jason L. Holman completed his internship at the Park and Recreation Center in Amelia, Virginia.  His research project was titled, "American Values and American Culture: Amelia, Virginia."

Tyler D. Hustrulid interned in the North Carolina office of the Environmental Defense Organization in Raleigh, North Carolina.  He research paper was entitled "The North Carolina Hog Farming Industry and Its Effects on the Environment."

R. Bradford Israel was a summer intern with the United States Congress in Washington, D.C., in the office of Sen. Jeff Sessions, Republican - Alabama.  His research paper addressed the question, "Have Partisan Politics Compromised the Federal Judicial Nomination Process?"

Jeffrey R. Monroe was an intern with Networks, Inc., a Christian Non-Profit Day Camp in Raleigh, North Carolina.  His research project addressed the Bush Administration's Faith-Based Initiative.

Ryan K. Rilee interned with State Pulse, private political information services firm located in Richmond.  He also worked in the Virginia General Assembly in the office of the Senate Majority Leader, Walter Stosch, Republican - Henrico.  His research paper was entitled, "Optimal State Governance and the Virginia General Assembly."

Thomas O. Robbins interned at the Institute of United States Studies, located in the University of London.  His research paper was entitled, "Immigration: Changing the Face of Britain in the 21st Century."

Conrad M. Singh fulfilled his internship requirement in the United States Business and Industry Council in Washington, D.C.  His research project was on "Globalization and the United States Economy."

Hunter Y. Taylor interned with the National Heritage Division of the Department of Conservation and Recreation in Richmond, Virginia.  His research paper was titled, "The Endangered Species Act: A Critical Assessment."

Bryan P. Thompson was an intern in the United States Congress, in the Washington, D.C., office of Congressman Rick Boucher, Democrat - 9th District, Virginia.  He also interned last spring in the Virginia General Assembly.  He focused his research on several abortion-related bills that were considered during the 2003 session.

Donald F. Walter interned at Maryland House of Delegates, Baltimore, in the office of Delegate Barry Glassman, Republican - District 35B in Harford.  His research project was "The Contemporary Capital Punishment Debate in Maryland."

The Harvey B. Morgan Award
This award, presented this year for the fifth time, was established in 2000 by Mary Helen Morgan to pay tribute to her husband and his life of public service.  It is to be given to a graduating senior who has successfully completed the requirements of the Public Service Program at Hampden-Sydney College, has demonstrated an interest in public service at the local or state level, and whose integrity and excellence of character reflect those qualities as evinced in the life of Harvey D. Morgan '52.

Recipients Robert Bradford Israel (left) and Thomas O. Robbins