WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dr. John T. Casteen III, Dr. Mary Hatwood Futrell and Dr. William Julius Wilson shared the spotlight as winners of the 2013 Dr. John Hope Franklin Awards on Monday night, as well as their memories of the legendary historian, writer, educator and humanitarian.
Casteen is best known for his 20-year tenure as the president of the University of Virginia, during which time the school’s enrollment of women, minority and economically disadvantaged students increased dramatically. According to Casteen, Franklin’s knowledge and commitment to the school influenced his approach to leading the university.
“I, on two occasions, sat next to Dr. John Hope Franklin in which he was chairing the selection of Woodrow Wilson fellows, but I spent the day sitting next to Dr. Franklin, handing him and filing papers,” said Casteen at the reception hosted by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, creator of the award. “It was a lesson and a combination of brilliance and humility to watch him talking about the prospects of opportunity that these young people faced.”
Like Casteen, Futrell admired the work that Franklin performed in higher education, particularly his laying the scholarly foundation that led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case.
“When I think about Dr. John Hope Franklin, I think about the fact that he constantly reminded us that this society and nation have made a lot of progress, but we still have a long way to go,” Futrell said.
As former president of the National Education Association and dean of the George Washington University Graduate School of Education, Futrell marked Franklin’s humanitarian service in education as “highly-regarded,” especially considering Franklin’s willingness to also advocate overseas.
“And he didn’t just fight the battle here on the shores of America, he fought the battle all over the world,” Futrell said.
