Alumni celebrated for distinguished service in youth advocacy and education
The Wheaton College Alumni Association honored two of its own in May—Martha Stone ’70 and Derron Wallace ’07— and presented them with Alumni Achievement Awards for their significant contributions to society.
Stone serves as special counsel for the Center for Children’s Advocacy, which she founded in 1997. A vibrant non-profit with 13 attorneys, the CCA provides legal representation and advocacy for the most vulnerable at-risk children in Connecticut, addressing issues of abuse and neglect, racial justice, educational inequities, youth homelessness and access to medical and mental health care.
Stone earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Wheaton and a JD and LLM from Georgetown University Law Center. She later served as legal director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union and was associate director of Children’s Rights, Inc., a national organization that litigates foster care nationwide.
She has received numerous awards for distinguished service and was an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law for 26 years.
Stone accepted the award “with gratitude and humility” and credited the late Professor of Political Science Jay Goodman with helping students get through the turbulent years of her time at Wheaton. The self-confidence and fearlessness she learned from Goodman helped her career advancement. She also learned to “love what you do” from Goodman and how to stand up for herself.
Derron Wallace is a sociologist, organizer, writer and educational researcher. A member of the Brown University Department of Africana Studies / Rites and Reason Theatre and the Annenberg Institute, he previously served for several years as associate professor of sociology and education at Brandeis University.
Also the Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, his research and organizing focuses on ameliorating structural and cultural inequalities in urban schools and neighborhoods as experienced by Black youth.
“Gratitude fills my heart today, in part because Wheaton afforded me great growth,” Wallace said after accepting the award. “I learned how to think, write and lead here.”
Wallace said that he learned that there were things that were worth fighting for—such as creating a major in African American studies at Wheaton, a cause he championed and that faculty approved during his time as a student.
“In this moment of political turmoil in this country, I hope that you all find something worth fighting for, something that transforms your life and changes the world and I hope Wheaton is a part of what you will fight for.”
Wallace’s research has been published in leading sociology and education journals. He has received numerous awards recognizing his scholarship on Black youth and earned a pair of awards for excellence in teaching and research from Brandeis.
His award-winning book, The Culture Trap: Ethnic Expectations and Unequal Schooling for Black Youth, explored cultural explanations of Black students’ achievement and behavior in London and New York City schools.
A Posse Scholar at Wheaton, Wallace double majored in sociology and in African, African American, Diaspora Studies, and received a Projects for Peace grant, a Watson Fellowship as well as Fulbright and Marshall scholarships. He holds a master’s degree in international education and a Ph.D. in sociology of education from the University of Cambridge.