Outstanding Liberal Arts Alumni Award

Dr. Jacqueline Balk Tusa, ’70g History, is retired principal of Jacqueline Balk Tusa, LLC, a lobbying firm located in Washington, D.C. She is also one of the first women to earn a doctoral degree in history from Penn State. After graduation, Jacqueline moved to Washington to accept a Smithsonian Institution Fellowship and lecture at several local universities. She next became minority counsel for the House of Representatives’ Commission on Administrative Review that sought to reform Congress’ internal administrative procedures. After the Commission completed its work, Jacqueline left Capitol Hill to lobby for a major forest products company before returning to serve as Chief of Staff to U.S. Mark Andrews (R-ND). Jaqueline joined Senator Andrews as partner/principal of their lobbying firm in 1987 and established her own consulting firm after his retirement. She also served as a private sector representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, and several other international fora and co-founded the World Food Law Institute.

Jacqueline’s passion for history manifested itself in the gift she made to support the Richards Civil War Era Center’s Emerging Scholars Summer Mentor Program. She and her husband Frank (’67g, ’75g History) have also supported the Department of History’s graduate program. Jacqueline and Frank reside in Washington.