A History of Shaping Lives

After 37 years at Mason, history professor Bob Hawkes says goodbye—and his many devoted students say thanks

Matthew Salter, BA History '01, (left) with Bob Hawkes

By Tara Laskowski, MFA'05

When Bob Hawkes came to Mason in 1969, there were six academic buildings and 1,200 students. The cafeteria, or the Ordinary (so named for its “ordinary” food, Hawkes quips), was in the basement of the South Building (now Krug Hall), just below the chemistry labs, so the smell of chemicals permeated the dining area. Where the Johnson Center, Robinson Hall, and other buildings now stand, in 1969 there were only trees leading back toward Braddock Road.  “We were almost unknown,” says Hawkes, history professor and an expert in U.S. southern and Virginia history. “In order to get publicity, we’d send a student out to climb the flag pole and then call the [Washington] Post and tell them. It rarely worked.”  Thirty-seven years later, Mason has grown to become an innovative research institution with outstanding faculty and academic programs, 30,000 students, and four campuses. Through it all, Hawkes has had a front row seat.  “People ask me how I’ve managed to stay at the same institution for so long. To them I reply, ‘In 37 years, I have been at many different institutions.’ What characterizes Mason is change. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere where there isn’t change.”  One thing that hasn’t changed over time is students’ devotion to Hawkes. In all those years of pounding facts into and sharing interesting stories with his students, Hawkes created a long list of people who remember and miss his teaching. When he announced his retirement this year, many of those devotees clamored for a way to celebrate his service.

Several Mason alumni, all former students of Hawkes, coordinated a retirement dinner and tribute to the man whom they call their most influential teacher. Held at the Country Club of Fairfax in April, the celebration had an Old South theme, representing Hawkes’s career.  “One of my most influential professors was Bob Hawkes,” says Stephen Karbelk, BA History ’92, cofounder and a former president of the History and Art History Alumni Chapter. “When we heard he was retiring, we wanted to go all out and have a big party for him.” Rob Paxton, BA History ’79, credits Hawkes with many lessons in not only history, but also human nature, diversity, and writing. “He instilled a love of learning, and it’s helped me tremendously in life.”

The event was just one aspect of the tribute being paid to Hawkes.  Alumni are working with Jack Censer, chair of the History and Art History Department, to raise money for an endowed chair in Hawkes’s name.   “This chair would reflect the tradition of Hawkes’ hands-on, careful concern for students and his committed effort to the institution,” says Censer. “That kind of teaching has been a tradition of the History Department, and Hawkes has been a role model for that.”

Hawkes says he will dearly miss teaching students. He says he still remembers his favorite comment ever written on an evaluation form: “In every lecture, you gave me something that I thought about for the rest of the day  “That was such a moving comment,” Hawkes says. “That’s what I always wanted to be as a teacher.”  About the dinner and the endowed chair effort, Hawkes says, “I am flattered and honored beyond belief. I’m hoping this gives me more opportunities to reconnect with former students. It’s wonderful.”  After retirement, Hawkes’s plans are simple. The historian, who among other things values a sense of humor, says, “I’m going to see if I can still plow behind a mule.” His students, he claims, will understand.

For more information or to donate to the Hawkes Endowment Fund, contact Kathleen Kehoe at 703-993-8740.  ehan@gmu.edu

Dear Friends and Colleagues of Larry Levine:

Larry Levine's death is keenly felt by so many.  The Organization of American Historians has voted to create an annual Lawrence W. Levine Prize for the best book in cultural history. We hope that you will consider contributing to the $50,000 prize endowment fund to make that possible. Checks can be made out to "OAH Prize Fund" with "Levine Award" on the memo line, and mailed to Roy Rosenzweig or Mike O'Malley, Department of History and Art History, MS 3G1, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030.

Dina Copelman, Jack Censer, Marion Deshmukh, Deborah Kaplan, Mike O'Malley, Martin Sherwin, Roy Rosenzweig
George Mason Universit

AS OF JULY 1, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Computational Sciences no longer exist. Instead, two new colleges will begin operations: the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (LAHS) and the College of Science (COS). George Mason's Board of Visitors approved the reorganization more than a year ago after lengthy study and consideration by the faculties of the colleges.
--> Read more...
--> Visit LAHS online...
--> Visit COS online...it CO

Censer Named Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

By Stephanie Hay

Provost Peter Stearns has announced that Jack Censer, chair of the Department of History and Art History, will be the dean of the new College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS).  Censer’s three-year term will officially begin July 1, 2006, but he will begin immediately participating in decisions and policies affecting CLAHS.

In an e-mail announcing the appointment, Stearns thanked the search committee, chaired by Gary Galluzzo, College of Education and Human Development, and said, "I am delighted at the prospect of working with Jack Censer on the varied challenges and opportunities associated with the new college. We hope and expect that, three years from now, the college's vibrancy and sense of purpose, in teaching and research focused on the varied aspects of the human condition, will constitute one of the leading strengths of George Mason University."
“This is an incredible collection of units that need to find a new identity," says Censer. "I think the Shared Values Report did first-rate intellectual work on the focus of this new college being the human circumstance, both societal and individual.  "Specifically, we need to understand the current set of obligations that face us today amid issues like a globalized economy, vague political threats from elsewhere and the breakdown of familial norms. The college can be and should be focused on everything from deep roots understanding and intellectual sources of these problems to actual application – from philosophy through administration of justice. Linking the intellectual and practical is the focus. That’s goal enough for any college.”

Censer says perfecting intellectual and teaching skills as scholars, building more doctoral programs, cultivating more undergraduate research and generating funded and nonfunded research will enhance CLAHS.   “We should provide tools to students through demonstrable leadership. We want to produce leaders by virtue of a skill set and deep, applicable knowledge,” he says.   Censer, who received his PhD from Johns Hopkins, has been a Mason faculty member since 1977 and chair of History and Art History for 11 years. “I’ve loved my job,” he says. “The people in History and Art History are great people to work with, and we’ve accomplished so much as a team.”

Some of those accomplishments include the growth of the Center for History and New Media, the development of a PhD program in history and the current consideration of an MA in art history program.   “The main thing I learned as chair is successful team building and consensus building that can be applied to a large unit like History and Art History, and I’m hoping to propagate that in the new college. As dean, I plan to organize the energies of the college, not direct those energies.”   Censer's publications include "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution," a general study of the French Revolution he authored with Lynn Hunt. He is also the author of “The French Press in the Age of Enlightenment,” “Prelude to Power: The Parisian Radical Press, 1789-91” and many articles on the history of French periodicals of the 18th century. He teaches the French Revolution, the social and cultural history of Europe and the history of the family.

A search for a new chair of the Department of History and Art History is under way.

College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) Dean Jack Censer accepts a raffle entry from a future Mason student at a Dean's Tailgate event, held by CHSS on January 13.

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences,
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The GMU Alumni Association and the History and Art History Alumni Chapter joined to celebrate Founding Father George Mason's 279th Birthday at George Mason's Historic home at Gunston Hall on December 11, 2004.

Pictured above (clockwise): Ken Prowell, MA History'93; Dave Turk, MA History'97; Dave's son Ryan Turk; Fidel Taparra, MA History'01; Stephen Karbelk, BA History'92 (founder of History Art History Chapter).

History & Art History Chapter Tours Antietam Battlefield
Saturday, October 1, 2005 Sharpsburg, Md.

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