On March 11, 2011 the USC College of Arts and Sciences hosted its annual Recognition of Excellence dinner at the Riverbanks Zoo honoring those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement or made significant contributions to the University and their communities. The recipients were:

Institutional Support Award: Watson-Brown Foundation
Distinguished Service Award: Ms. Lynn Robertson
Distinguished Young Alumnus Award: Mr. Daniel D'Alberto
Distinguished Alumnae Award: Dr. Gail L. Morrison
Dean's Award: Dr. Lois Duke Whitaker

The Watson-Brown Foundation was established in 1970, by journalist and broadcast pioneer Walter J. Brown. Named for his father, J.J. Brown, and the famed statesman, Thomas E. Watson, the Foundation endeavors to improve education in the American South by funding its schools and students, preserving its history, encouraging responsible scholarship, and promoting the memory and values of its spiritual founders through creativity, diligence, and financial support. In its pursuit of providing college opportunities for underprivileged boys and girls, the Foundation awards annually more than $2.4 million in merit and need-based college scholarships to students from a sixteen-county region of Georgia and South Carolina. The Foundation has supported the Institute for Southern Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences by awarding it over $1 million in grants to expand the program and attract researchers of the highest caliber.

Ms. Lynn Robertson received her M.A. in Art History from American University in Washington, D.C., and her training in museum practices from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and Columbia University. She has served as the Executive Director of McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina since 1988. She came to Carolina ten years earlier to take the position as the museum's Curator of Art after teaching at Francis Marion University and working at the Florence Museum. Ms. Robertson has been a leader in McKissick's mission to research, present and preserve South Carolina's traditions. While she has been director, the Museum has built outstanding collections in ceramics, basketry, and textiles, as well as archival holdings on traditional music, food ways, and occupations.

Mr. Daniel R. D'Alberto earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Carolina Honors College in 1997, and an M.S. in Higher Education Administration from Florida State University in 2000. In 2005, he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. While in law school, he was named to the Order of the Wig and Robe. He also received CALI Awards in American Legal History and Criminal Law and served as an editor for the ABA Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal. Mr. D'Alberto is an associate of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP with a wide variety of experience advising businesses in the areas of complex business, patent, pharmaceutical, and securities litigation. In 2008, he received the Nelson Mullins Renaissance Associate Award, an award given to one associate within the firm who best demonstrates achievement in client service, training, pro bono, marketing, recruiting, and productivity.

Dr. Gail M. Morrison completed her A.B. in English at Denison University and her M.A. in English at the University of Michigan. Upon completing her Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of South Carolina in 1980, she taught at both Midlands Technical College and Carolina as an adjunct faculty member. In 1984, Dr. Morrison joined the S.C. Commission on Higher Education, where she would go on to hold a number of positions, including Director of Academic Affairs and Student Services, Deputy Director, and Interim Executive Director. She also served as lead staff member for the S.C. Centers of Economic Excellence/Endowed Chairs program. Among her most recent initiatives were 1) the creation of SCTRAC.org, an on-line tool that enables college students to identify how courses will be counted for degree credit; and 2) the S.C. Course Alignment Project, which has brought together high school and college faculty in high school-exit and freshman-entry courses in English, math, and science to maximize effective student preparation, enhance success, and reduce attrition. 

After earning her Ph.D. in political science in 1986, at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Lois Duke Whitaker enjoyed an impressive academic career teaching at Auburn University, the University of Alabama, and Clemson, where she was the first female full professor in her department. She is now a full professor and former department chair at Georgia Southern University. A specialist in American government with particular expertise in politics and gender, and Southern politics, she currently serves on the College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors at Carolina. Dr. Whitaker is a past president of the S.C. Political Science Association and the Georgia Political Science Association. She is also the recipient of the Clemson Chapter of the American Association of University Professors Award of Merit, and the Georgia Southern University College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Award of Distinction in Scholarship.