2021 Outstanding Alumnae

Agnes Scott College is proud to celebrate the 2021 Outstanding Alumnae Award winners. Nominated by their fellow alumnae, the distinguished recipients were recognized for their notable accomplishments that demonstrate how Scotties are truly leading everywhere.

—By Monica Gayles Dorsey

DISTINGUISHED CAREER Ellen Weinberg Boney ’86

Photo courtesy of Ellen Weinberg Boney ’86

At a time when thousands, indeed millions, are in need of health care services, Ellen Weinberg Boney ’86 is leading the way in the health care field not only as a doctor but also an administrator. She is currently the deputy chief of staff of the Columbia VA Healthcare System in Columbia, South Carolina, where she oversees health care services for more than 86,000 veterans. In her role, she works to develop ways to ensure that routine care does not Photo courtesy of Ellen Weinberg worsen during the COVID-19 crisis. Boney ’86 She was surprised and excited to receive the 2021 Distinguished Career Outstanding Alumnae Award.

“With so many outstanding women representing Agnes Scott College, it is truly an honor to be selected,” Boney says.

A Charles A. Dana Scholar, Boney graduated from Agnes Scott with a degree in chemistry and continued her education at the Medical University of South Carolina, receiving her Doctor of Medicine in 1991 and completing a residency in anesthesia at Emory University, where she taught and practiced for several years. She continued in the field of anesthesiology in Rome, Georgia, as director at the Floyd Medical Center and later as managing partner of Preferred Anesthesia Consultants. Her distinguished career includes serving as director of operations at Lighthouse Anesthesia with former Agnes Scott classmate Mary Margaret Cooke ’86. Later, she entered the financial industry, passing the General Securities Representative Exam, Series 7, 66 and 24, with high scores.

In a biography, Boney notes, “The real gifts from Agnes Scott are the ability to think independently, the ability to think creatively and the ability to lead thoughtfully.” With these gifts, she made a seamless transition from private practice to corporate, becoming regional anesthesia medical director of Hilton Head Hospital and president of the ApolloMD anesthesia division, where she increased the net revenue over $4.48 million in her first year as president. Later, she became the chief operating officer of MedStream Anesthesia, managing over 500 providers. Recently, she became a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the nation’s largest professional society for health care leaders.

Boney is pleased “to see so many women entering the medical field. However, there are still glass ceilings in some areas that need breaking. I am excited to see what the next generation of Agnes Scott physicians and other professionals will accomplish.”

She has already blazed the path for them to do precisely that.

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY Virginia “Ginger” Rollins Hopkins ’72

Photo courtesy of Virginia “Ginger” Rollins Hopkins ’72

“What sets Virginia ‘Ginger’ Rollins Hopkins ’72 apart from others is that she never stops in her efforts to bring hope to what others describe as hopeless” is how Virginia Dunaway ’56 describes the impact that Hopkins has had on hundreds of children at Brewster Elementary School, located in one of the most underfunded districts in Memphis, Tennessee. Hopkins’ service goes beyond teaching. It includes fulfilling student needs that often go unmet — providing food, clothing, shoes and transportation, and giving students a chance to showcase their talents and perform for large audiences.

In 2006, she began teaching Orff music at Brewster Elementary School and started the Beacons of Light Chorus. Her desire to teach children music turned into musical productions that began with 25 students in 2007 to now over a hundred. Although many of her students could not speak English, Hopkins convinced them to participate in productions that drew audiences of more than 1,000. In some of the musicals, like “The Wizard of Oz” and “Annie,” performing meant more than just singing a song. As a third grader at the school says,

“I felt very proud to be Annie last year because it helped me express myself. It feels good when Mrs. Hopkins helps me improve.”

Hopkins also began the first urban garden in a Memphis elementary school, the B.U.G. Club, where underserved children learned the importance of gardening and proper nutrition.

Before becoming a life-changing musical teacher and mentor, Hopkins began her career performing in nationally known symphony orchestras. In a six-year span, she sang with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, and she toured with the Southern Opera as a lead alto soloist.

Hopkins received a bachelor’s degree in music from Agnes Scott, a master’s degree in musicology from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, where she was awarded a postgraduate scholarship to focus on voice. She taught private voice lessons at Rhodes College before she began teaching at Brewster Elementary.

When Hopkins learned of receiving this award, she said, “At Agnes Scott, much was given to me — academically, experientially and socially. It is only right that those of us who have the opportunity to do so should pass the gift along to others.”

SERVICE TO THE COLLEGE Betty Derrick ’68

Photo courtesy of Betty Derrick ’68

Members of the class of 1968 describe Betty Derrick as “the thread” that holds them together. They are therefore not surprised that she received the 2021 Outstanding Alumnae Service to the College Award.

“I can think of no alum who is more deserving of this recognition,” Susan Stevens Hitchcock ’67 says. “Actually, it’s overdue.”

Derrick began her studies at Agnes Scott in 1964 as a National Merit Scholar pursuing a degree in history. She served as treasurer and vice president of the student government and treasurer of Mortar Board. A natural leader, she co-chaired a committee with Kathryn Glick, professor of classical languages and literatures, that proposed the pass-fail option still in existence today.

After graduating from Agnes Scott with a bachelor’s degree in history, Derrick worked at Southern Bell for over 20 years, leaving in 1972 to study at Rice University, where she earned a master’s degree in history. She returned to Southern Bell and retired in 1996 as assistant vice president of business services.

For over 50 years, Derrick has served as secretary of the class of 1968 and, in that capacity, she has gathered and maintained confidential information, keeping members of the class informed, in touch and aware of college news and happenings. In fact, her hard work and dedication inspired the class to reach its goal for its annual fund campaign every year. In 2019, she made a significant gift to the Campaign for Main in memory of one of her classmates.

While serving as class secretary, she also worked as special assistant to then President Mary Brown Bullock ’66 in 1996 and, in the following year, as special assistant to Gué Pardue Hudson ’68, vice president for student life and community relations at the time. Derrick is now beginning her third year as chair of the Atlanta Alumnae’s Winter Seminar, a growing lecture series that has provided nearly $100,000 in scholarship funds.

In addition to strengthening the bonds of her class, she has also strengthened the Agnes Scott community by bringing “The Hub Sing Song Book” to life. Her service is a testimony of her love for Agnes Scott, which classmates Ann Wilder ’68 and Ethel Carter ’68 describe as “enabling us to cry together, laugh together and celebrate our connection to each other and to Agnes Scott. Surely the greatest service is the creation of a caring community.”

OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNA Jordan Casteel ’11

Photo courtesy of Jordan Casteel ’11

Whether we are drawn to an exhibit by headlines in The New York Times or Vogue, or by gallery notes for a solo exhibition at the New Museum, when we see the name Jordan Casteel ’11, we know that the exhibit will be profound in its brilliance and in its originality. As Agnes Scott Professor of Art Nell Ruby writes, “It would not be an exaggeration to use the term ‘skyrocketed’ to express Jordan’s now-international acclaim.”

There can be no candidate more fitting for the Outstanding Young Alumna Award than Casteel, according to Ruby. “She represents the integration of the noble ideas of a liberal arts education in everyday practice,” she notes.

Casteel, born in Denver, Colorado, graduated from Agnes Scott with a bachelor’s degree in studio art. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in painting and printmaking from Yale University School of Art in 2014. Scholarship on her art — published in books and magazines — is extensive and significant, an achievement for an artist who only seven years ago completed graduate school. Casteel has had residencies at Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program in Brooklyn and the Studio Museum in Harlem, several group exhibitions, six permanent collections and more than five solo exhibitions.

Casteel’s former professors are not surprised by her success. They remember her as a serious and disciplined student who got to know everyone on an individual level. Anne Beidler, professor of art history, recalls Casteel as a “bright and endlessly curious young student with a depth of personhood.”

The language of her art is the language of social justice. In the words of Casteel’s former professor of art, Katherine Smith, “Her work does not simply engage the social and intellectual challenges of our times; it anticipates them.”

In the commencement speech she delivered at Agnes Scott’s 2019 ceremony, Casteel said it was the nurturing environment at the college that allowed her to “embrace myself unapologetically.” She reminisced of her time at Agnes Scott, saying, “I learned that with each step off the cliff, my wings would get stronger, better at keeping me at a cruising altitude.” This Outstanding Young Alumna does not cruise. She soars.

About the Outstanding Alumnae Awards

Each year, the Agnes Scott Alumnae Association recognizes outstanding alumnae in four categories: Distinguished Career, Service to the College, Service to the Community and Outstanding Young Alumna.

Visit agnesscott.edu/alumnae/ outstanding-alumnae.html to learn more, including how to nominate an alum for the 2022 Outstanding Alumnae Awards. Any alum may be nominated for an award, regardless of class year (i.e., the alumna does not have to be in a reunion year to be nominated or to win). Contact alumnae@ agnesscott.edu with questions.