Bellarmine University will "knight" Angela M. Mason at the university's annual
Knight of Knights black-tie dinner on Friday, October 10. The university has bestowed this honor since 1998 in recognition of support and service to Bellarmine University. The event also recognizes for President’s Society members who make gifts of $1,500 to benefit Bellarmine students.
Mason is a 1980 Bellarmine graduate and co-founder and former CEO of ITS Services, a Washington, D.C. area technology company. ITS Services established itself as a leader in providing information technology solutions to various federal agencies.
Bellarmine’s Board of Trustees selected Mason as the next Bellarmine Knight to recognize her success as an entrepreneur and her commitment to helping Bellarmine’s students succeed.
One of six siblings, Mason was born and raised in Louisville’s West End, the product of a Catholic family. Athletic, and with a pension to lead, Mason enjoyed success in high school playing basketball at Mercy Academy and duPont Manual High School. She garnered notoriety as a skilled point guard and floor general during a time when women’s basketball had yet to come into its own.
After a year at Eastern Kentucky University, still not knowing her path in life, Mason decided to come home with only two options offered by her mother: work a full-time job or have another plan that would lead to success.
To her family’s surprise, she enrolled at Bellarmine College after receiving financial aid, a work study grant and a student loan. Throughout college, she worked in the Admissions Office and at First National Bank. In 1980, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bellarmine, and shortly thereafter moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue a career in business.
Bellarmine Knights:
1998: Owsley Brown Frazier
1999: Msgr. Alfred F. Horrigan
2001: Nolen Allen
2002: James A. Patterson
2003: Bill Samuels
2004: Dr. Allan Lansing
2005: C. Edward Glasscock
2006: Joseph P. Clayton '71
2007: Stephen A. Williams
2008: Victor Staffieri
2009: Len Spalding '59
2010: Dr. Joseph J. McGowan
2012: Mike McCallister
2014: Angela Mason '80
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In 1980, Mason went to work for 3M Corporation. While at 3M, she earned the reputation of being a committed, hard-working individual, and through a referral landed a job at Tymnet, an international data communications company, where she was formally introduced to the fast growing technology world. After a short stint at Tymnet, she found her way to a fledgling technology start-up company, Compex Corporation. During her four years there, Mason developed her entrepreneurial skills with a goal of starting her own company.
In 1991, Mason and Ram Prasad, with less than $3,000 in assets, co-founded ITS Services, which specialized in enterprise architecture, network services and operation, and software and applications development. At the time, ITS, as only one of three woman owned technology companies, found itself competing against well-established technology firms in the Washington, D.C. area.
ITS grew to employ over 600 employees with annual revenues in excess of $75 million. While guiding ITS’ development, Mason garnered several awards as Contractor of the Year and ITS was twice named as one of America’s top African-American enterprises. Under Mason’s leadership, ITS was also named one of the “Fast 50” growing companies by Washington Technology magazine. In 2003, Mason sold ITS and began new entrepreneurial pursuits.
In 2004, Mason established the Angela M. Mason Endowed Scholarship at Bellarmine. In addition, she also endowed scholarships in the names of her parents, James and Norma Mason, with a $2 million gift to Bellarmine. Then, in 2005, with a desire to extend her entrepreneurial efforts in her community, Mason created the Region I Catholic High School Scholarship Program, which pays for an education at a Louisville Catholic high school for need based, qualifying students. The program has since developed into The Angela M. Mason Catholic High School Scholarship Program, providing scholarships to more than 100 students.
Mason’s philanthropic work embodies the spirit of her Catholic education, having offered significant support for educating some of Louisville’s neediest students. In 2009, she was named Bellarmine Alumna of the Year.
Mason resides in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia with her partner of 34 years, Carol, and their dog Chloe.