MACON, Ga. – Stephanie L. Ard, of Richmond Hill, Ga., took home one of Mercer University’s top honors when she graduated this month. She is the 2008 recipient of the Wallace Odell DuVall Excellence in Leadership Award.
Ard graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Mercer’s Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics on May 10 and will continue her studies in a Master of Accountancy program.
The DuVall Excellence in Leadership Award, which includes a monetary award, is given annually to a student or students who have been accepted into an accredited graduate program and have demonstrated the abilities to motivate and inspire the confidence and trust of others, while possessing vision, intelligence and integrity.
Ard has been a leader both in and out of the classroom, participating in the University’s rigorous Great Books program to fulfill her general education requirements, and the University’s Honors Program. Her business studies focused on accounting, and she earned high praise from members of the accounting faculty for her work in the program and her commitment to honor and integrity. To broaden her educational experience, she participated in two study abroad experiences. In addition to her academic work, she has held several leadership positions in the Student Government Association and her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi.
About the Wallace Odell DuVall Excellence in Leadership Award:
The Wallace Odell DuVall Excellence in Leadership Award at Mercer University recognizes the outstanding leadership of a graduating senior from one of the University’s undergraduate schools and colleges who has been accepted into an accredited graduate program. Candidates must have demonstrated the abilities to motivate and inspire the confidence and trust of others, while possessing vision, intelligence, integrity and common sense, and having a good academic record. The selected recipient receives a financial award.
Wallace Odell DuVall (1901-1993) was an Atlanta attorney who spent most of his career in the banking industry. He served as secretary and attorney of the Atlanta Building and Loan Association, which later became Georgia Federal Savings and Loan Association, of which DuVall became chairman of the Board of Directors and chairman of the Executive Committee. A generous benefactor and longtime friend of Mercer University, he was a founding trustee of Atlanta Baptist College, which merged with Mercer in 1972 and became the University’s Atlanta campus. He served three terms on Mercer’s Board of Trustees, 1972-77, 1978-83 and 1985-90. The Dean’s Suite at Mercer’s Law School is named for him as well as an academic building on the Atlanta Campus, where his portrait hangs.
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has 7,300 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial Health University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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