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Main Page Contact Francisco Duque, 912.961.3173 For Immediate Release
AASU to Award Posthumous Honorary Degree to Nick Mamalakis(Savannah, November 19, 2007) Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) will bestow a posthumous Honorary Doctor of Letters upon Nicholas (Nick) John Mamalakis, former university supporter, civic leader and recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for outstanding national service. Mamalakis, the son of Greek immigrants, died on June 15, 2005 at the age of 91. Anna Mamalakis, widow of Nick Mamalakis, will receive the Honorary Doctor of Letters from AASU President Thomas Z. Jones during dual commencement ceremonies on December 8 in the Alumni Arena on the AASU campus. Following the award ceremony, Mamalakis' son, John M. Mamalakis, will speak on his father's behalf. "The university is recognizing Mr. Mamalakis for his loving support of the students of this university and for his extraordinary civic leadership that has brought and continues to bring benefit to this university and the entire Savannah community," said Jones. Starting in the 1960s, as a founding member of the Big "A" Club in athletics, he extended his support to the alumni association and the university foundation. In 1985, the AASU Alumni Association named Mamalakis Armstrong Citizen of the Year for his service to the university and the community. Mamalakis served as a trustee of the foundation board from 1993 to 1996. In 1997, he and his wife, Anna, established the Nick and Anna Mamalakis Scholarship. Two years later Mamalakis was inducted into the AASU Athletic Hall of Fame. Mamalakis joined Mercer General Insurance and Realty Company as a clerk before graduating from Savannah High School in 1932. He retired as president of the company in 1982. He served with the Naval Intelligence Services during World War II for more than four years. He was awarded five war medals for distinguished service. In 1999, when he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for outstanding national service, Mamalakis joined other honorees, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn, and Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist. Well known for his extensive involvement in the Savannah community, Mamalakis was a communicant of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church, where he held laity positions both locally and with the national church. In 2004, the Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America honored Mamalakis in New York for originating the Archdiocesan Pension and Health Plans. Mamalakis' parents, the late John E. Mamalakis and Demetra K. Mamalakis immigrated to Savannah from Rodakino, Crete and Piraeus, Greece respectively. In 2003, longtime friend and protege J. Cliff McCurry and his wife, Kathy, made a generous contribution to the Emerging Leader Program at Armstrong Atlantic in honor of Mamalakis. The fifteen-week leadership development program for first year students and students new to AASU, was renamed The Nick Mamalakis Emerging Leader Program. |
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