HU Presents Presidential Citizenship Awards During Founder's Day

Hampton, VA - At the Hampton University Founder’s Day Ceremony held on Jan. 28, HU President Dr. William R. Harvey presented the 2007 Presidential Citizenship Awards. The awards were presented to The Honorable Benjamin J. Lambert, III, Virginia State Senator and Dr. Ellamae Simmons, a retired physician.   The keynote speaker for the ceremony was former Virginia Supreme Court Justice John Charles Thomas.

Harvey established the Presidential Citizenship Award in 1979 to recognize individuals who are positive role models for others and who through their service to their communities, contribute to the values of decency, dignity and improvement in the quality of life for others.

Lambert has been a member of the Virginia State Senate since 1986, after having served in the House of Delegates from 1978 to 1985.  Lambert, a native of Henrico County, Va., represents the 9th Senatorial District (composed of parts of Richmond City and Henrico and Charles City counties.)  He has served on numerous Senate committees during his career, including the chairmanship of the Subcommittees on Higher Education and General Government.  Lambert currently serves on numerous boards.

Hampton University is honoring Lambert for his contribution to his constituency in Richmond and the people of Virginia for some 28 years. Additionally he is being honored because of his principled stand in support of people rather than party. "He is truly a 'Profile in Courage,'" said Harvey.

Simmons graduated from Hampton University in 1940 and was a nurse and social worker before completing medical school.  Simmons had a successful medical career at Northern California Kaiser-Permanente Medical Group in San Francisco.  She has also served as a volunteer physician for uninsured and under-insured patients at Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Health Center in Richmond, Calif.

Simmons was instrumental in the development of the Lifelong Learning Institute at Hampton University. Through a donation by Simmons, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute provided the first 50 registrants with hardback copies of “A Wealth of Wisdom,” edited by Camille Cosby and Renee Poussaint.