Distinct Honor

Georgia Southern alumna Hala Moddelmog has joined Pres. Lyndon Johnson, novelist James Michener, Sen. Robert Dole, newsman Tom Brokaw, entertainer Burl Ives, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and Gen. Colin Powell as a recipient of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Moddelmog, the first graduate of Georgia Southern to receive the national award, earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Georgia Southern in 1979 and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University in 2007. She most recently served as president and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. As a six-year breast cancer survivor, Moddelmog has a passion for championing women’s issues and community engagement.

The award, one of the Association’s highest national honors, was conferred on Nov. 24 at the AASCU’s Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

Previous recipients include entertainer Burl Ives, Rosalynn Carter, Dan Rather and Gen. Colin Powell.

Moddelmog has been a strong supporter of Georgia Southern, having served as the chair of the institution’s first capital campaign in 2003, the Campaign for National Distinction. With a goal of $40 million, she led the campaign that ultimately topped $53 million for the University. She has also served on the Georgia Southern University Foundation Board of Trustees, was named College of Liberal Arts Alumna of the Year in 2000, is an inductee into the College of Business Administration Hall of Fame, and was named the Distinguished Alumna of the Year for the University in 2007. She has served as an executive-in-residence for the College of Business Administration’s Center for Retailing Studies.

Prior to joining Susan G. Komen for the Cure, she served as founder and CEO of Catalytic Ventures, a private equity firm that consulted and invested in the food service industry. She became the first woman in corporate America to lead an international Quick-Service Restaurant brand in 1995 when she was named president of Church’s Chicken, a division of Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises.

Moddelmog subsequently led Church’s to record sales and profit performance. She also held executive management and marketing positions at Church’s, Arby’s Franchise Association and BellSouth. In August, Moddelmog was unanimously elected to the board of directors of Amerigroup Corporation. She has served on the boards of directors for Fiesta Brands Inc., HyperActive Technologies, and AMN Healthcare Services Inc.

Moddelmog has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to philanthropy, directing company participation in causes like Habitat for Humanity, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and helping to found Camp for Change, which provides week-long summer camp experiences for children who would not otherwise have that opportunity.

Globally recognized for innovative leadership and strategic brand development, Moddelmog has served on the boards of Leadership Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Foundation, the B.B. King Museum Foundation and Women Looking Ahead magazine.

She is a recipient of the Women’s Foodservice Forum Emerging Leader Award, the International Franchise Association Bonny LeVine Award, the Restaurant Hospitality Rising Star Award, and the Roundtable for Women in Foodservice Pacesetter Award. In 2003, she received the Women of Achievement Award from the YMCA of Greater Atlanta.

In 2008, she was called to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Moddelmog told the committee that efforts to find and fund early cancer detection methods should be a priority.

“There are so many cancers that don’t have an early detection method, and that is what we have to start to do,” she said. “Early detection is, in so many cases, the closest thing we have to a cure. It’s time to conquer cancer.”

In a 1999 interview with Georgia Southern magazine, Moddelmog said that her University training in the humanities contributed greatly to her ability to lead complex organizations. “The skills I developed in learning how to analyze English literature provided me with an excellent foundation for analyzing markets,” she said. “Communication skills are absolutely critical. If you can’t communicate and persuade others to follow you, you don’t get a lot of productivity. I believe all of these are important for future success.”