DATE: October 10, 2008

CONTACT: Brett Wright, 864-656-3036
wright@clemson.edu

WRITER: Ross Norton, 864-656-4810
rnorton@clemson.edu

NPS Director Mary Bomar earns Walter Cox Award for leadership

CLEMSON — The person in charge of some of America’s most beloved places, from the Statue of Liberty to Yellowstone National Park, was presented the Walter T. Cox Award Oct. 8 at the annual George B. Hartzog Environmental Awards luncheon at Clemson University.

National Park Service Director Mary A. Bomar, who also was keynote speaker for the university’s annual Hartzog Lecture, received the award from the Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. Four of the six living former NPS directors were in attendance to celebrate the life of one of their own: the event’s namesake, George B. Hartzog Jr., who died earlier this year. Clemson University presents the Cox Award annually to someone who has demonstrated sustained achievement in public service, providing leadership in administration of public lands and for policy formation affecting natural and cultural resources.

Hartzog’s widow, Helen C. Hartzog, took part in the presentation, along with Larry Allen, dean of the Clemson University College of Health, Education and Human Development.

Bomar leads a team of 20,000 employees and 140,000 volunteers in administering 391 National Park Service (NPS) units and related cultural and natural heritage programs.  The parks welcomed more than 275 million visitors in 2007.

“If there is one achievement I can claim, it is that I have tried to use my position as director to tell the story of what we do for the parks and the American public,” Bomar said. “There are 20,000 great stories in the service and I am proud to tell them all.”

Throughout her career, Bomar has held varied leadership positions. She joined the National Park Service in 1990 after spending more than 12 years as a senior manager with the United States Air Force. Selected as regional director of the NPS Northeast Region in July 2005, Bomar led the strategic planning, management and operation for more than 100 parks and areas of national significance.

Bomar served as superintendent of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia from 2003-2005. There she presided over a $314 million reconstruction of Independence Mall. The project included the relocation of the Liberty Bell to its new home in the Liberty Bell Center.

Bomar became director of NPS is 2006 when she succeeded Fran P. Mainella, now a visiting scholar at Clemson.

Brett Wright, chairman of Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM), presented the award at the annual program and lecture series named for Hartzog, director of the National Park Service from 1964-1973.
    
The Hartzog Fund at Clemson University allows PRTM to sponsor the Hartzog Lecture Series in Resource Management.

Established in 1966, Clemson’s PRTM department is one of the largest and oldest of its type in North America. The department has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the National Park Service and other federal and state land management agencies.   

Clemson University is a public, land-grant university in Clemson, S.C. The university is committed to world-class teaching, research and public service. Approximately 17,100 undergraduate and graduate students study on the 1,400-acre campus. Students may choose from more than 70 degree programs offered through the university's five colleges:  Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and Behavioral Science; Engineering and Science; and Health, Education and Human Development.

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