Alumni Achievement Award Recipients
The Alumni Achievement Award, given annually by Stephens College, recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves in their field and their community and have a steadfast commitment to the Ten Ideals of Stephens. This award is the highest honor bestowed on our alumni and is presented during Alumni Weekend.
2026 Recipient: Dr. Mabry Miller O’Donnell ‘65
Dr. Mabry Miller O’Donnell, Class of 1965, is the recipient of the 2026 Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed upon Stephens College alumni.
Over a distinguished 42-year career at Marietta College, Dr. O’Donnell shaped generations of students as a professor of communication, mentor, and nationally recognized leader in her field. She served as Director of the Fundamentals of Oral Communication Program and Director of Forensics, coaching students to record-setting success while fostering confidence, critical thinking, and excellence in communication.
Her impact extends far beyond the classroom. Dr. O’Donnell earned numerous national and institutional honors, including recognition as Outstanding Speech Instructor in the Nation, and held leadership roles within the National Communication Association.
Her dedication to teaching was matched by her ability to inspire—challenging students to exceed their own expectations and equipping them with skills that have shaped their personal and professional lives.
A trailblazer in higher education, Dr. O’Donnell advanced through the academic ranks at a time when women were underrepresented in the profession, paving the way for those who followed. In retirement, she continues to serve her community through volunteer leadership and philanthropic engagement.
Dr. O’Donnell’s career reflects the very best of a Stephens education—intellectual rigor, leadership, and a lifelong commitment to making a meaningful impact.
Past Alumni Achievement Award Recipients
2025
John Perrin Flynn ’73
2024
Kristin Atwell Ford ’91
2023
Lynda Clugston Webster ’78
2022
Karen Meek ’95
2021
Mattie Carolyn Hall ’67, ’69
2020
Jen Svrcek ’90 (awarded in 2021)
2019
VADM Nancy Brown USN (RET) ’73
2018
Donna Ensign Marshall ’58
2017
Melanie May ’77
2016
M. Anne Murphy ’78
2015
Toni Leach Reinis ’67
2014
Ginny Hawley McSwain ’73
2013
Alanna Nash ’72
2012
Jill Griffith ’72
2011
Becca Ayers ’96
2010
Deborah Hamilton ’63
2009
Leslie Foster ’79
2008
Doris Painter Littrell ’58
2007
Mary Josie Cain Blanchard ’67
2006
Ying Li-Oshrin ’89
2005
Katherine Henry
2004
Corky Hale Stoller
2003
Teresa Rouse-Maledy ’78
2002
Bonneau (Bonnie) McElveen Hunter ’72
2001
Jean McFaddin ’62
2000
Toni Grant Verstandig ’74
1999
Alana Smith Shepherd ’49
1998
Mary Mel French ’58
1997
Tomima Edmark Polley ’79
1996
Wendy Manasse Wiese ’81
1995
Annie Potts
1994
Laura Steele Evans ’71
1993
Paula Zahn
1992
Catherine Barton Para ’77
Anne Louise Wallace ’82
1991
Judith Doyen Taylor ’73
1990
Sonja Dabkovich Caproni ’62
Sally Bullard Thornton ’53
1989
Sally Morgan Fitzgerald ’35
1988
Ann Wrobleski ’73
Joyce A. Mitchell ’72
1987
Jill Butler ’64
Margaret Elizabeth McIntosh ’77
1986
Janet Fowler Shaw ’57
1985
Peggy S. Gott Ph.D. ’64
Jean Muir (hon. ’73) ’79
1984
Joyce McClure ’69
Ardys Hogle Thayer ’45
1983
Nell Plopper Euruch Lazarus ’39
Dawn Wells
1982
Jeannette Korab Kalogridis ’71
Lorraine Chambers-McCarty ’40
1981
Leila Bromberg Andrews ’58
Bettye Maxwell Krolick ’46
1980
Laurelle Sheedy Mathis ’70
Sylvia Stone ’55
1979
Kathryn Myer Budzak ’59
Anna Siegelbaum Moldafsky ’50
1978
Madolyn Youse Babcock ’44
M. Susan Hays-Stern ’66-’68
Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick ’46
1977
Patricia Craddock ’57
Lucille Garber Ford ’42
Margaret A. Kilgore ’55
Anita Marie Martini ’58
Martha Naset ’68
Martha Fuller Owens ’51
1976
Diane Lain Murray ’53
Phyllis Walden ’68
Gerridee Stenehjem Wheeler ’47
1975
Sabra Eagan
1974
Bernice Linderman Williamson ’32
1973
Sara Mumma Harral ’32
Jackie Fleisher-Wood ’69
1972
Barbara Rippel Gordon ’63
Marion Cox Lichty ’35
Mary Louise Green Madigan ’42
Peggy Hitchcock Ransom ’47
1970
Doralys Arias ’50
Selma Jeanne Cohen ’39
Geneva Drinkwater ’15
Dorian Hunter ’52
1968
Eleanor Cleveland Anderson ’35
Mary Ellen Stribling Bouldin ’50
Genevieve Miller Esgar ’48
Beatrice Burton Middleton ’18
1967
Ann Case Drummond ’28
Virginia Ralles Parker ’51
Betty Goetz Lall ’45
Eualine Uhl Wright ’31
1966
Mary Ann Calcott D.D.S. ’58
Helen Gregory ’25
Kathryn Wilson Jordan ’28
Patricia Spaulding ’42
1965
Ruth Bundy Armsby ’23
Anita Farlow Blakeslee ’42
Irene Meinershagen Bleckschmidt ’26
Jeannene Thompson Booher ’56
Mary Adelaide Gardner ’40
Janet Garlough ’41
Wilda Tinsley Moening ’34
Wanda Yvonne White ’45
1964
Adrienne Adams Anderson ’25
Wally Funk ’58
Virginia Neville Robertson ’33
Mary (Mimi) Allen Smitten ’43
1963
Patricia White Barry
Dorothy Harcourt Hickerson ’39
Frances Lea McCurdy ’25
Gerda Mehwald Picco ’50
1962
Mary B. Anderson ’29
Nell Plopper Eurich Lazarus ’39
Beulah Winstel Dechert ’37
Margaret Sandzen Greenough ’28
Janet R. Kern ’43
Vivian Saunders Kleinkopf ’54
Jean Clinton Roeschlaub ’44
1961
Phyllis Joan Burline ’48
Madeline Darling Harp ’31
Mildred Benjegerdes Hays ’45
Irmgard Grossman Johnson ’35
Esther Replogle ’23
Helen Ross Staley ’41
Kay Johnson Williams ’24
1960
Margaret Barbee ’18
(Mary) Jane Smisor Bastien ’55
Martha Brian ’50
Shirley A. Field ’42
Gloria Kenney Jones ’44
Carla Shriner Williams ’40
1959
Susanna Laun Alexander ’36
Virginia Carpernter Christ-Janer ’33
Helen Froelich Holt ’32
Marilyn Ellis Keene ’38
Jeanne Butcher Shaffer ’44
1958
Margaret Wolf Dagen ’38
Esther Winifred Daley Kaasa ’30
1957
Betsy Snyder Dew ’37
Olivia Noel Robertson ’22
1956
Frances Jenkins Holter ’44
Jean Cravens Leyda ’20
1955
Evalyn King Joachim ’29
Eudora Vance Scott ’37
Glad Robinson Youse ’20
1954
Eugenia Moore Anderson ’28
Ethlyn Wisegarver Bott ’18
Cordelia Trimble Robinson ’22
1953
Ardenia Chapman ’13
Ina Estes Hubbard ’13
Ruth Lovelace Courteol ’19
1952
Marie Kuhns Hardy ’20
Pauline Brannock Moore ’23
1951
Alice Jones Ewing ’27
Dorothy Currigan Sevedge ’25