Mary Hodgson Phillips (Class of 2000 and former GMLF board member) received the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Missouri College of Arts and Science during an awards celebration held at Jesse Hall Auditorium on March 11th.
Interim Dean Cooper Drury is shown presenting Mary with her award.
During the ceremony, Mary commented, “raised by parents who instilled in us the importance of serving others, it has been my privilege to mentor and support students and faculty in the Truman School of Government & Public Affairs, coaches, journalists, international scholars at Mizzou as well as vulnerable populations in our beloved and diverse community. Public service has always been challenging and no more so, than now. We are all too aware of the forces at work to unseat democracy here and around the world, undermine confidence in the research of our scientific community and attempts to restrict what we read, teach and learn. But when I look around this room, a room filled with brilliant researchers, writers, teachers like my parents, and scholars I see the best of public service and I thank you for your commitment and work to ensure the essential fields of art, humanities and science remain strong. I see here tonight people who create, who generate light. And in your light we are all privileged to walk inspired, hopeful, wiser. Together.”