What Others Say About Her
Liam McGrath
Rotary Club of Kensington/Wheaton
President (04-05)/Secretay 05-06)
Rotary, which has more than 31,000 clubs around the world, draws its more than 1.2 million volunteer members from a diverse group of professional leaders. Among our chief missions is the promotion of world peace and understanding. In my experience, few prospective members so obviously fit what Rotary seeks as Grace Virtue does.
Ian Edwards
Public Information Specialist
Organization of American States
Grace Virtue is a talented journalist, educator, internationalist and humanist who lives her life with a depth of meaning that eludes many of her peers. Among her many attributes, is her love for life and her determination to live hers fully and purposefully. Not only has this allowed her to lead a productive professional life, but it has allowed her as well to make frequent stops along the way just to smell the roses. Indeed, despite her many accomplishments, her greatest pride is in her children and her garden.
Evan W. Duggan, Ph.D.,
Culverhouse College of Business
University of Alabama
Grace’s approach to her work, and indeed her life, is calm and pensive reflecting her strong belief, grounded in a Christian faith, that there is a reason for everything—and not just any kinds of reasons but good ones. Yet this thoughtfulness does not take away from the energy and passion with which she approaches everything. She is committed, highly focused, and energetic whether she is pursuing a special academic project, just being a mother to her beloved girls, or being a member of her community.
Grace is a dynamic individual…It is because of women like her that one can look to the future with hope. I consider her to be a woman of compassion and vision. Whenever I talk to Ms. Virtue, I feel like this woman is committed to changing the world.
-E. Ethelbert Miller
Celebrated poet and author and director of the African American Resource Center
Marjan de Bruin
Director, Caribbean Institute of Mass Communications
University of the West Indies, Mona.
From the very beginning, I was struck by her maturity, her sense of purpose, her dedication to her work and her commitment to the principles she believed in. Over the course of her three years as a student, I watched and enjoyed her personal and professional growth, particularly as she honed her writing skills and exhibit a keen interest in those areas that I thought would be well-served by her passion and her clear talents as a journalist. Among those were issues affecting women and children, consumer affairs and the environment. Even as we yearn for her return home, we revel in the thought that she is making a meaningful contribution to the United States and the World.
Carol Rose
Journalist, South Florida
I met Grace about 18 years ago when she was a passionate young reporter and an editor at the Gleaner, the largest newspaper in the English-speaking Caribbean. She was fascinated by and cared deeply about different aspects of the human condition and I admired those qualities because I knew they would drive her reporting. They did. Her stories stirred debate and mad e people think a little differently. There is little doubt that Grace is an asset to any community of which she is part. She is the kind of person who will bring only good to the table.
David Woods, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, John H. Johnson School of Communications
Howard University
Georgetown Graduate
Grace brings deep insight into her observations. She writes exceptionally clearly and is highly-organized. All of these traits were apparent to me when I served on her dissertation committee.
Grace is a talented journalist with a deep knowledge and keen sense of awareness of the world as well as a passionate humanitarian with an abiding burden for the suffering, the marginalized, the dispossessed and disadvantaged. And, she is loyal to her friends and entirely devoted to her children. Indeed, among her many concerns is that for all children and for making communities safe and welcoming in a way that honors their innocence and special needs.
- Phyllis Thomas, Enterprise Editor
The Gleaner
John W. Cotman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Political Science, Howard University
Yale Graduate
I embraced her immediately, not just as a student but as a scholar and colleague who will one day make some outstanding contribution on the international scene.
Delano Franklyn
Attorney at Law and former Minster of State
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
I have known Grace Virtue for more than 25 years. All through those years, I have known and trusted her deeply as intelligent, hardworking, and purposeful. Additionally, she is a fine leader with extraordinary vision and commitment to both scholarship and service to her communities. She possesses excellent interpersonal skills and relates easily to people from all walks of life.