May 12, 2004

A Washington Legacy

Archway, Scholarships for Police Officers Named in Honor of the Late Walter Washington, District’s First Mayor Under Home Rule

The George Washington University dedicated a memorial archway and announced new law enforcement scholarships to pay tribute to the first modern mayor of Washington, DC — the late Walter E. Washington who passed away Oct. 27, 2003.

On what would have been Washington’s 89th birthday, Mayor Anthony A. Williams, and councilmembers Harold Brazil (at large), Jack Evans (Ward 2) and Kathy Patterson (Ward 3) joined President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg and Mary Burke Washington, widow of the Hon. Walter E. Washington, for the dedication of the archway leading to the Marvin Center’s Eye Street entrance, April 15.

“Walter Washington was a devoted supporter of education and a dear friend of The George Washington University,” said Trachtenberg. “This archway will serve as a memorial to contributions that Mayor Washington made to this great city and our University.”

Washington was appointed mayor-commissioner of the District by President Lyndon B. Johnson and later was the first modern mayor elected in the District following the establishment of home rule in 1973. He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from GW in 1970.

“President Trachtenberg and my husband had a special relationship,” Mrs. Washington said. “My husband would have been honored by what’s going on here today. He loved the city, the people and The George Washington University. … Thank you for honoring him with these scholarships for our police officers.”

GW’s Walter Washington Scholarships for Police Professionals, will support the new police science undergraduate certificate, associate and bachelor degree programs in the College of Professional Studies (CPS). The program is the result of a year-long collaboration with metropolitan-area law enforcement experts and police specialists. CPS plans a July 2004 launch for this challenging new curriculum, and all individuals entering the program will receive the newly chartered scholarships — a 50 percent reduction in GW’s current undergraduate tuition rate.

Drawn from six different schools at GW, the custom-designed program will serve law enforcement officials at all levels within DC, Maryland and Virginia. Students in the program will learn the fundamental standards supporting focused law enforcement, strategic procedures for sustaining success and leadership, principles in managing the resources of government and other organizations to work on the underlying causes of crime and disorder confronting today’s police.

“It’s a great thing for DC,” said Hughey Payne, a retired sergeant from the Metropolitan Police Department, on hand for the dedication ceremony. “This is a program for people on the front line. When I heard about it I thought it was ideal. I envision people graduating from this program and writing new policies for emergency preparedness to make the city and our country safer.”

“In addition to their time-honored law enforcement responsibilities, police face increasing demands in the context of homeland security and attendant ‘first response’ initiatives,” said Trachtenberg. “This broadening and evolving role in the face of complex threats merits a fresh perspective from GW on the nature and scope of the applied knowledge our police forces receive, and this is our purpose in creating the program and in establishing the Walter Washington Scholarships for Police Professionals in honor of DC’s first mayor and representing GW’s continuing commitment to the communities it serves.”

The program includes a number of innovative features, such as enabling students to receive up to six academic credit hours of prior learning assessment for courses they completed at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, GA, or for other eligible relevant experiential learning. Specialized subjects include criminal justice, professional technologies and crisis, emergency and risk management, transnational security, weapons of mass destruction, and leadership, values and ethics.

“Recent years bear witness to fundamental changes in the ways public safety must be secured,” said Richard F. Southby, GW police science academic program director. “CPS exemplifies a new model of teaching and learning that addresses this need and engages adult students — in this case, police officers — as active participants in their own education.”

“Anytime you have an educated officer you are going to have a better officer,” added Payne.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu