2014 Distinguished Alumni Awards

On April 24, 2014, we celebrated our 2014 Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Awards recipients. This year's awardees consisted of a beloved faculty member, a Pulitzer Prize Winner, a driving force in continuing education, a trailblazer in the energy industry, one who strives to remember the best of humanity, and a lifelong volunteer and advocate.

Meet The 2014 Recipients

Joe Daniels, AB ’94

Joe Daniels earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and is President and CEO of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation. Previously, Joe led external initiatives at the Robin Hood Foundation, a partnership that put libraries in under-performing schools in New York City. In 2009, he was named one of Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40 Rising Stars.” Hear Joe's Story.

Carol Epstein, BS ’08, AM ’08

Carol Epstein is well-known community volunteer and activist for animal welfare and humane education. As a student, she identified 25 Native American art objects and artifacts within the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum's permanent collection and co-curated an exhibition on American Indian art and iconography. She has established an Endowed Scholarship in University College, participated in the Home Plate Program, served on the Arts & Sciences National Council, and played a pivotal role in starting the Doctor of Liberal Arts degree program in University College. Hear Carol's Story.

Gayle Jackson, AM ’69, PhD ’72

With over 35 years of experience in the international energy industry, Gayle Jackson has become an expert on global fossil fuels markets. She served at the Department of Commerce under President Ford and served in leadership positions in two Fortune 500 companies. She sits on the boards of Ameren and Atlas Pipeline Partners, and she is a former trustee of Smith College, Webster University, SSM Health Care, the International Women’s Forum, and IWF Leadership Foundation. She was both a Fulbright Scholar and a Woodrow Wilson Fellow during her graduate studies.  She is currently President & CEO of Energy Global, Inc. Gayle and her husband, Frederick Kraus, MD55, are Brookings Partners and long-time members of the Eliot Society. Hear Gayle's Story.

Hank Klibanoff, AB ’71

Hank Klibanoff is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation. A former reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Boston Globe, he now holds the James M. Cox Jr. Professorship in Journalism and directs the journalism program at Emory University. Among numerous community posts, he serves as managing editor of the Civil Rights Cold Case Project, using multimedia reporting to investigate unsolved racial murders that took place during the modern civil rights era in the South. Hank has spoken on behalf of Washington University at events on campus and in Atlanta, and is a member of the Atlanta regional cabinet. Hear Hank's Story.

Ken Makovsky, AB ’62, JD ’65

Ken Makovsky is an award-winning public relations professional and writer. In 1979 he founded Makovsky & Company, one of the nation’s leading independent global public relations, investor relations, and branding consultancy. He is an active member of the A&S National Council, a reunion volunteer and New York regional alumni leader. He established the Minnie Makovsky Scholarship in Music at Washington University, has served as trustee of several community organizations, and received the Stanley M. Isaacs Human Relations Awards from the American Jewish Committee for distinguished leadership in forging ties between the Jewish people and other peoples of the world. Hear Ken's Story.

Professor Murray Weidenbaum

Professor Weidenbaum was a prominent figure in business and government. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1969 to 1971, and in 1981-82 as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. His research and teaching interests were government regulation of business, public finance, and economic policy. Weidenbaum was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International Academy of Management, and the National Association of Business Economics. His book Small Wars, Big Defense, was selected by the Association of American Publishers as the outstanding economics book of 1992. His Bamboo Network was a finalist for global business book of the year in 1996. His book One-Armed Economist: The Intersection of Business and Government, was published in 2004. In 2008, The Competition of Ideas: The World of Washington Think Tanks, was published by Transaction Press. He founded the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University and directed the Center for many years. The Center was renamed in his honor in 2001 as the Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy. Professor Weidenbaum taught a popular course on business and government. Hear Murray's Story.