Two Robinson Alumni to Receive 2021 Georgia State Distinguished Alumni Awards

ATLANTA – John M. Dyer and Donna A. Lee, both graduates of the Executive MBA program at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, will receive 2021 Georgia State University Distinguished Alumni Awards at a dinner on Friday, Oct. 22 at The Biltmore, 817 West Peachtree St. NW.

The award is the highest honor bestowed by the Georgia State University Alumni Association. It is given in recognition of the professional, philanthropic and personal accomplishments of outstanding alumni who personify true leadership.

“We are enormously proud of John and Donna for their many achievements, and grateful for their service to Georgia State and to Robinson,” said Richard D. Phillips, dean of the Robinson College. “We could have no finer role models for our students.”

John M. Dyer (MBA ’87) was president and CEO of Cox Enterprises from January 2014 to December 2017. A 40-year Cox veteran, Dyer was responsible for the company and its major subsidiaries. He joined the company in 1977, spending most of his career building Cox Communications into the nation’s third-largest cable provider. He has served on the Cox Enterprises board of directors since December 2012. Dyer chairs the boards of trustees at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Marcus Autism Center, and serves on the board of trustees of the Georgia State University Foundation. Dyer received the Robinson College Hall of Fame Award in 2017.

Donna A. Lee (MBA ’86) retired as chief marketing officer of business markets at AT&T Southeast (formerly BellSouth Corp.). Prior to joining BellSouth in 1998, she held various leadership roles during her 20-plus years at AT&T. Lee serves on the board of directors of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and has served on the board of trustees of the Georgia State University Foundation as development chair and board chair. She is now the immediate past chair. Lee received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Mary Washington College (now the University of Mary Washington), and completed the advanced management program at Harvard Business School.

In addition to Dyer and Lee, Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough (Ph.D. ’96), president of Dillard University, and Dr. Steve W. Wrigley (B.A. ’81), retired chancellor of the University System of Georgia, also will receive Distinguished Alumni Awards at the Oct. 22 dinner.

For more information about the 2021 Georgia State University Distinguished Alumni Awards, visit https://alumni.gsu.edu/daa.