Oxford awards highlight alumni weekend

Eugene Williams (right), an officer with Oxford Campus Police, receives his Outstanding Staff Award from Kip Hart 94Ox 96C, president of the Oxfrod College Alumni Board (OCAB). Williams was one of the recipients feted during Oxford's alumni award ceremony, which were presented by OCAB during Alumni Weekend.

As is tradition, Oxford’s Alumni Weekend 2009 included a convocation, where alumni, faculty, staff, students, and other friends of Oxford came together to celebrate the college and honor this year’s recipients of the annual alumni awards.

The Outstanding Alumna Award was presented to Teresa Rivero 85Ox 87B 93PH, an alumna who has demonstrated commitment to and passion for the University. She exemplifies the highest levels of ethics and service in her professional and volunteer service.

Rivero, a member of Emory’s Board of Trustees (BOT), is a senior program officer with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, managing its investments in education for Atlanta and for the State of North Carolina. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, she was the grant officer for the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. After serving on the Emory Alumni Board (EAB), Rivero has taken a role on the BOT’s Campus Life Committee.

After graduating from Oxford, Rivero earned a BBA from the business school in 1987. She continued on to the Rollins School of Public Health, where she earned her master’s in public health, and also received a master’s in business from Georgia State. She has a strong record of public service, which includes serving in the Peace Corps in Honduras, coaching a youth soccer team and participating in the American-German Marshall Fellowship. The Outstanding Alumna Award honors Rivero’s exceptional dedication, loyalty, and innovation in her service to Oxford.

The Honorary Alumna Award was given to Mary Louise Dunn Fleming. The award honors an outstanding individual who did not graduate from Oxford, but who has shown exceptional dedication to the college—something Fleming most certainly did throughout her 40 years of service to the Oxford community.

A native of Marietta, GA, Fleming graduated from Georgia State College for Women at the top of her class. In 1966, she and her husband, Bond Fleming 33C 36T, settled at Oxford, where he became dean. During their 10 years on campus, she hosted many functions and was the librarian at Cousins Middle School. After retirement, the Flemings remained active in the Oxford community. Mary Louise passed away in 2007, but her legacy lives on in the garden and book fund established in her name at Oxford.

The Outstanding Teaching Award honors Professor Dan Moore’s 35Ox 37C 40G love of learning and his passion for community in his teaching at Oxford. Moore left a legacy of excellence that will serve as a mark of quality for all who follow.

Moore taught math at Emory from 1940 to 1942, served in the Pacific as a U.S. Army captain through 1946, and then returned to teaching at Emory’s Valdosta campus until it closed in 1953. Later that year, Moore came home to Oxford, where he spent the next 30 years as a professor of mathematics and physics.

When he retired in 1983, the Dan C. Moore Fund was created in his honor; contributions to it helped finance the expansion and renovation of Pierce Hall. A scholarship and math award were later established in Moore’s name. Moore remained an invaluable member of the Oxford community up until he passed away in October 1999.

The Outstanding Staff Award honors Eugene Williams’ exceptional dedication, loyalty, and service to Oxford College. Williams joined Oxford as a security officer in 1994 after spending nearly three decades in the U.S. Army. After a few years, he attended the police academy to become a certified peace officer in the State of Georgia. Williams has proven himself to be a loyal team worker and dependable volunteer.—Cory Lopez 10C