2003 Distinguished Alumni

William E. Cornelius M.A. '83
After two years with the U.S. Army’s audit agency in Germany, Mr. Cornelius joined Price Waterhouse in St. Louis in 1955. He moved to Union Electric in 1962, becoming executive vice-president and a member of the board of directors in 1968. Elected president in 1980 and named chief executive officer in 1984, he rose to chairman of the board in 1988. Now a board member of Ameren Corporation, Mr. Cornelius retired in 1994.

A trustee emeritus of Washington University, Mr. Cornelius, with his wife, Ginger, supports scholarships in Arts & Sciences and in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. He is also extensively involved in community service.

Dennis C. Dickerson, Sr. M.A. '74, Ph.D. '78
Dr. Dickerson, a social historian, first went to Williams College in Massachusetts, where he stayed for nearly 23 years and rose to hold an endowed chair in history. In 1999 he became professor of history and a member of the graduate department of religion at Vanderbilt University.

His scholarly publications include three books and other writings on civil rights, medical history, labor, black leadership, and African-American religious history. President-elect of the American Society of Church History, Dr. Dickerson is an ordained minister and historiographer of the 2.5-million-member African Methodist Episcopal Church. Dr. Dickerson supports Arts & Sciences and Olin Library at Washington University.

Mark J. Ginsburg A.B. '73, House Staff '81
Dr. Ginsburg is chief executive officer of ESRD Laboratories in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which performs blood tests for people on dialysis throughout the United States. He also heads Statewide Laboratory Services, which does the lab work for Florida’s Medicaid patients.

A supporter of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Ginsburg chairs the Gold Coast Regional Cabinet and serves on the Arts & Sciences National Council, the Alumni and Parents Admission Program, the Regional Campaign Committee, and more. He has also provided an endowed scholarship and a named professorship in Arts & Sciences. Dr. Ginsburg’s nonprofit corporation, Tropical Nature, purchases endangered land and builds eco-lodges in partnership with the local people.

Mark E. Mason A.B. '51
Mr. Mason is vice chairman of Oxford Development Company, one of the largest private developers in western Pennsylvania. He has served as a trustee of Washington University, chairman of the Alumni Board of Governors, member of the Arts & Sciences Campaign Leadership Committee, and co-chair of his 2001 Reunion. He is a member of the Arts & Sciences National Council and recipient of the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He has also made special efforts to raise Washington University’s profile in his city.

Deeply involved in civic and public service activities in Pittsburgh, Mr. Mason has also been active in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Susan Ekberg Stiritz M.A. '68, Ph.D. '01
Translating knowledge into action, Dr. Stiritz served as an enthusiastic enlistee in the War on Poverty, developed a day-care center through the Model Cities Program, and served as education and training director in family planning.

After returning to doctoral course work at Washington University, she was struck by the impact of women’s studies on students. So Dr. Stiritz endowed the Susan E. and William P. Stiritz Distinguished Professorship in Women’s Studies. She now teaches two courses in the Women and Gender Studies Program in Arts & Sciences, conducts literary research, and participates in a four-year training program at the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute.

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