Washington Post Columnist Receives Arhu Distinguished Alumnus Award
October 28, 2013
In his column, “John Kelly’s Washington,” English major John Kelly ’84 takes a look at Washington’s less-famous side.
Starting at The Washington Post in 1989, shortly after graduating from the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities in 1984, John Kelly has edited the Weekend section, founded KidsPost, worked as a general assignment reporter for the Metro section and written as a Metro columnist.
In his column, “John Kelly’s Washington,” which is described in his Post biography as “a daily look at Washington’s less-famous side,” he discusses topics like the only amusement park to have ever existed in Washington, D.C., the number of birds that die in the city during migration season from flying into buildings, and a project managed by the Commission on the Arts and Humanities to renovate the New York Avenue Bridge.
In his latest article, published on Sunday, October 27, Kelly includes the text from his acceptance speech, in which he thanked the university and mentioned how he was fortunate to have attended what has “become a much more competitive school.”
“As Jean-Paul Sarte said, ‘Words are loaded pistols,’” Kelly said in his speech. “Thank you to the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities for providing me with plenty of ammunition.”
The Distinguished Alumnus Awards are presented annually to University of Maryland alumni who have achieved recognition for excellence in their profession or field. The Distinguished Alumnus Awards are presented to alumni from the college or school from which they graduated.
Past ARHU Alumni Achievement Award winners:2012 Domonique Foxworth (‘04), Former NFL Cornerback, philanthropist and President of the NFL Players Association2011 Donald A. Ritchie (M.A. ’69, Ph.D. ’75), U.S. Senate Historian2009 David Baggett (’92), Software Developer and Entrepreneur2008 Yuriko Yamaguchi (M.F.A. '79), Artist2006 George P. Pelecanos (’80), Writer, Story Editor, and Producer, HBO Films2004 Gail Berman-Masters (’78), Former Broadway Producer and Television and Film Executive2003 Donald Miller (Ph.D. ’72), Author of "City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America"2002 Maria Otero (’72, M.A. ’74), President and CEO, ACCION International2001 Brent F. Blackwelder (Ph.D. ’75), President, Friends of the Earth