Alumni honored for service and achievement
Four distinguished individuals were honored by President Tori Haring-Smith during the Alumni Dinner at Homecoming 2009. Pictured from left to right: Andrew Tabler, Sally Keen, Haring-Smith, Bill Keen, Barbara Koach Robinson Dewitt.
Homecoming is more than a time of reflection – it is a time of celebration that honors the remarkable progress occurring at W&J. To acknowledge the alumni and friends of the College who make this kind of progress possible, W&J bestows three important awards each year at Homecoming. The Distinguished Service Award, the Alumni Achievement Award, and the Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognize those who show particular loyalty to the College and those who have achieved notable success in their chosen fields. Distinguished Service Award Bill and Sally Keen
Alumni Achievement Award Barbara Koach Robinson Dewitt ’74
Outstanding Young Alumni Award Andrew Tabler ’94
With a passion for learning, Bill and Sally Keen have given back to W&J in countless ways. Bill, who started his career at the College in 1966, served as a professor in the English department for more than 30 years, while Sally, in her role as a faculty spouse, immersed herself in the W&J community.
A 1974 Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Barbara Koach Robinson Dewitt joined Mellon Bank the same year she earned her degree from W&J.
A writer, world traveler, analyst and entrepreneur, Andrew Tabler is a perfect example of a life-long liberal arts student.
As a professor of English, Bill is remembered most for walking into the Chaucer seminar and, with a booming voice, reciting an excerpt from the Canterbury Tales in perfect Middle English. He led the Freshman English program, helped develop Freshman Forum, chaired the curriculum committee, administered a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and served as a fraternity faculty advisor. A member of the W&J Auxiliary, Sally served on the Auxiliary’s Intersession Scholarship Committee, collected and sold used books for the Auxiliary Fair, and organized a Renaissance Semester Dinner festival. Accompanying Bill on Intersession trips abroad, Sally helped plan the itinerary, advised students in transit, and held the hands of nervous first-time travelers. Bill and Sally continue to host former students in their home for conversation and good company. At Homecoming 2008, Bill and Sally organized and hosted a memorial gathering for friend and emeritus professor, Hugh Taylor. They also created the Edit Keen Poetry Fund at W&J, memorializing Bill’s mother, and are active in fundraising efforts for the College library.
During the past 35 years, she has climbed the ranks of Mellon Bank, now BNY Mellon Corporation, serving as investment analyst, investment officer for charitable trusts, and vice president for administration of charitable trusts. Now, in her role as first vice president and managing director of the endowment and foundation section of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Dewitt oversees the administration of $3.5 billion in charitable assets. She is a consultant to bank executives, employees, clients and community members on the technical management of private foundations, community foundations, endowments, and planned giving programs. Dewitt has established a national reputation as an expert on the many facets of creating and managing charitable assets. Dewitt believes education is the foundation to success. She is a board member of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, which supports educational institutions and initiatives, the Massey Charitable Trust, and a past member of the Heinz Endowment Board of Directors. Fulfilling her ninth year of service on W&J’s Board of Trustees, Dewitt chairs the Enrollment Committee and is a member of the Investment Committee. She has been instrumental in strengthening W&J’s visibility within regional foundations, as well as advising the College on financial matters.
Serving as a Soref Fellow in the program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Tabler focuses on how to engage Syria in a way that best advances U.S. interests. During his 14 years of residence in the Middle East, Tabler worked in Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Tunisia, and the Palestinian territories. He ended his time in the Middle East with a two-year fellowship from the Institute of Current World Affairs in 2005-2007 and consultancy with the International Crisis Group in 2008. Tabler has held editorships with the Middle East Times, the Cairo Times, and the Oxford Business Group, where he held roles as senior editor, director of editorial, and partner. He then co-founded and served as editor-in-chief of Syria Today, Syria’s first private-sector English-language magazine. His journalistic merits include interviews with Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad, Israeli President Shimon Peres, the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, the late Lebanese Premier Rafik al-Hariri, and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. His articles and opinion pieces have run in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine and Foreign Policy, and he has appeared in interviews with CNN, NBC, PBS and NPR. He is the author of the forthcoming book In the Lion’s Den: Inside America’s Cold War with Assad of Syria.
Representatives from the Class of 1964 display their reunion class cup at the Alumni Dinner during Homecoming 2009. The class had the highest percentage – 50 percent – of classmates donate during the reunion giving period. From left to right: Don Murray, Ken Mason and Bill Stout.
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