Publisher John Johnson to address graduates

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Publisher John H. Johnson and retired General Wesley K. Clark will receive honorary doctor of laws degrees at the University of Arkansas 2002 all-University commencement exercise at Bud Walton Arena, at 8:45 a.m., Saturday, May 11.

Johnson is the founder, publisher, chairman and CEO of the Johnson Publishing Company Inc., Chicago, Ill., the largest black-owned publishing company in the world.

Johnson is one of American’s most successful entrepreneurs. A self-made man, his company is the publisher of Ebony. Through faith, self-confidence and a positive mental attitude, Johnson turned Ebony into the nation’s number one African-American -oriented magazine with a circulation of 1.7 million and a monthly readership of 11 million. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the nation can bestow on a citizen, from President Bill Clinton in 1996.

Johnson was born a descendant of slaves in Arkansas City, Ark., in 1918. His mother, Gertrude Johnson Williams, worked as a domestic and a levee cook to raise the money to move to the family to Chicago. At the time, no high schools for blacks existed in Arkansas City. Johnson repeated the eighth grade in Arkansas rather than end his education.

In Chicago, Johnson graduated from DuSable High School where he was on the honor roll, served as senior class president, editor of the newspaper, and yearbook editor. Among his classmates were Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx and future entrepreneur William Abernathy. When Chicago youths made fun of Johnson's speech, he would stand in front of his mirror at home and practice speaking correctly.

Because of his accomplishments, Johnson was invited to speak at a Chicago Urban League event. There African-American businessman Harry Pace noticed Johnson, offering him a scholarship and a job at Pace's company, Supreme Life Insurance Company.

He started Johnson Publishing in 1942 with a $500 loan against his mother's furniture. He got the idea for Negro Digest, the forerunner of Ebony, while selecting articles for Pace to keep abreast of current events of interest to blacks. The company has a book division and also publishes Jet magazine, the number one black news weekly with a readership of over eight million. It employs more than 2,600 people with sales of over $388 million. Johnson Publishing owns Fashion Fair Cosmetics, the number one makeup and skin care company for women of color around the world and Supreme Beauty products, hair care for men and women. The company is involved in television production and produces the Ebony Fashion Fair, the world's largest traveling fashion show, which has donated over $47 million to charity. The show visits more than 200 cities in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

The Johnson family is active in many charities, including the United Negro College Fund and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

In 1971, Johnson Publishing moved to its new 11-story headquarters on Chicago’s fashionable Michigan Avenue, becoming the first black-owned business to be located in the Loop.

Johnson presently serves on the boards of directors of Dillard's Inc., and he has served on the boards of First Commercial Bank, Little Rock; Dial Corporation; Zenith Radio Corporation; and Chrysler Corporation.

Among the many awards he had received is the NAACP’s coveted Spingarn Medal for the highest and most achievements by an African American in 1965. That same year, he was one of 12 Americans who received the Horatio Alger Award. Johnson also has received the USC Journalism Alumni Association's Distinguished Achievement Award in 1969, Black Journalists’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987 and The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Entrepreneurial Excellence Award in 1993. In 1982, he was the first black named to the Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest Americans.

Most recently he was honored with the 2001 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Award sponsored through the Sam M. Walton College of Business of the University of Arkansas. In 2002, he received the Vanguard Award and The Trumpet Award.

Also among Johnson’s many accomplishments is service to the United States. In 1957 he accompanied Vice President Richard M. Nixon on a special goodwill tour to nine African countries and again in 1959 he accompanied Vice President Nixon to Russia and Poland. In1961 Johnson was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as Special U.S. Ambassador to the Independence Ceremonies of the Ivory Coast; and in 1963 he was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as Special United States Ambassador to the Independence Ceremonies of Kenya. In 1966 he was appointed by President Johnson to the National Selective Service Commission. In 1970 he was appointed by President Nixon as a member of the President's Commission for the Observance of the 25th Anniversary of the United Nations.

Also to receive an honorary doctor of laws degree will be retired and much decorated Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 1997 to 2000. He was also the Commander in Chief of the United States European Command.

Clark has returned to his native city of Little Rock, Ark., where he works with Stephens Group, Inc., handling high technology venture capital. His extensive military expertise is still an aspect of Clark’s work as he is a noted speaker presenting key insights on strategic leadership, foreign and military policy and high technology to corporate leaders and other audiences and as a military analyst for Cable News Network (CNN).

On August 9, 2000, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor.

As Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, Clark was in command of NATO’s military forces in Europe. In his position as SACEUR, Clark was also commander of the approximately 75,000 troops from 37 NATO and other nations participating in ongoing operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. In 1999, Clark commanded Operation Allied Force, the Alliance’s successful military action in response to the Kosovo crisis. This was NATO’s first major combat action and largest air operation in Europe since World War II.

Clark’s book Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Combat was released in May 2001.

Simultaneously, as Commander in Chief of U.S. European Command, Clark commanded U.S. military activities in 89 countries and territories covering more than 13 million square miles of Europe, Africa and the Middle East and involving approximately 109,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

Clark’s previous assignments include: commander in chief of the United States Southern Command, Panama, from June 1996 to July 1997; director, Strategic Plans and Policy, J5, the Joint Staff (April 1994-June 1996); Commander of National Training Center (October 1989-October 1991); deputy chief of staff for Concepts and Doctrine and Developments, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe (October 1991-August 1992).

Among Clark’s accomplishments was the creation of new systems to evaluate and prioritize high technology and help pioneer the digital revolution in the Army.

Clark is a 1966 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated first in his class. He holds a master’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar (1966-68). He is a graduate of the National War College, Command and General Staff College, Armor Officer Advanced and Basic Courses, and Ranger and Airborne schools. Clark was a White House Fellow (1975-1976) and served as a special assistant to the director of management and budget. He also served as an assistant professor of social science at the U.S. Military Academy.

 

INDIVIDUAL COLLEGE GRADUATION SCHEDULE:

Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, 12:30 p.m., Randal Tyson Track Center

(Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at noon in the northwest corner of the Randal Tyson Track Center.)

Speakers: Michelle Thomas, Tenethrea Thompson and Gentian Kostandini --

Senior Scholar Michelle Thomas, a 1981 graduate of Southside High School in Fort Smith, received a degree in dental hygiene in 1984 and practiced that profession for 16 years. She and husband David, a police officer, have two children and operate a small cattle farm in the Fort Smith area. Ms. Thomas attended the Division of Agriculture's Grazing Management School in 1998 and received Grassroots Grazers Training through Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas in 1999.

Tenethrea Thompson is the first graduate to complete the revitalized Bumpers College Honors Program. The 1994 Bearden High School graduate was awarded a scholarship in human development as a first year student. Thompson plans to pursue a master’s degree in counseling.

Her record of campus leadership and community service includes: president of the UA Inspirational Singers, president of the Reid Hall Senate, a Student Ambassador and member of the Black Students Association, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, Student Health Advisory Council, Gamma Beta Phi, National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Golden Key.

Gentian Kostandini is an agricultural business major who transferred to the U of A in 2000 from the American Farm School in Thessalonica, Greece. Kostandini graduated from the American Farm School as class salutatorian with an associate degree in agricultural business management. He will begin graduate school in the fall and hopes to eventually return to his home country as an agricultural economist.

School of Architecture, 12:30 p.m., front lawn of Old Main (Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at noon near the tent on the front lawn. Rain location will be Giffels Auditorium.)

Speaker: Steven L. Anderson. As the president of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, Steven L. Anderson has the responsibility of developing the giving programs and the management of one of the nation’s largest private foundations. In 1994, Mr. Anderson was appointed to the Board of Trustees. Since then, he has served in a variety of roles with the Foundation. Mr. Anderson has served as president of the Advisory Board of Trustees of Sparks Hospital in Fort Smith, and President of the American Institute of Architects in Fort Smith. In 1998, the trustees of the Foundation honored Mr. Anderson and recognized his service to the Board by funding the Steven L. Anderson endowed chair in Architecture and Urban Studies at the University of Arkansas School of Architecture. Anderson is a member of the Dean’s Circle, University of Arkansas School of Architecture, and a previous member of the school’s Professional Advisory Panel.

J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, 1 p.m., Bud Walton Arena (Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 12:15 p.m. inside the truck tunnel under the Harrod (east) entrance.)

Speakers: Students Ben Hood and Macadda Peoples --

Hood, of Bryant, Ark., is graduating with two degrees in May, one in computer science engineering and one in physics from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Among his academic awards, Hood was selected as on of only 40 students in the nation this year to receive a Marshall Scholarship. Also among his achievements Hood was named a Barry Goldwater Scholar, for his outstanding accomplishment in physics and engineering, and he was twice recognized by the Tylenol Scholarship Foundation. Hood came to the University in 1998 after receiving one of the institution’s top academic awards, the Bodenhamer Fellowship.

Peoples, of Little Rock, Ark., is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in the journalism-advertising/public relations sequence. Peoples came to the U of A on a Sturgis Fellowship, one of the University’s most prestigious awards. She was a National Achievement Scholar and four-year honors student in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Sam M. Walton College of Business, 12:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena, (Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 11 a.m.)

Speaker: Linda Johnson Rice is president and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing Company Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, the number one Black-owned publishing company in the world and the publisher of Ebony. She was previously president and chief operating officer. Ebony has been published for over 55 years and has a circulation of 1.7 million and a monthly readership of 12 million. Johnson Publishing is celebrating its 60th year and was founded by Rice’s father, John H. Johnson, chairman and publisher.

College of Education and Health Professions, 3:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena, (Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 3 p.m. on the south side of Barnhill Arena.)

Speaker: University of Arkansas Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Bob Smith has been with the University since July of 2000. Bob Smith has forged a distinguished career as a faculty member, scientist, and academic administrator at four major research universities. The provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs is the chief academic officer at the University, reporting directly to the chancellor. Reporting to the provost are the deans of eight schools and colleges, as well as the deans of continuing education, University Libraries and enrollment services. Other units reporting to the provost are Air Force and Army ROTC, the Teaching and Faculty Support Center, and the offices of institutional research and summer session. Also among his duties as provost, Smith heads up the University of Arkansas 2010 Commission.

College of Engineering, 4 p.m., Bud Walton Arena

Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 3:30 p.m. inside the truck

Speaker: William E. Clark is the chairman and chief executive officer of CDI Contractors, LLC based in Little Rock. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1965. Mr. Clark currently serves as chairman of the UA Board of Trustees and is a member of the UA Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee. He is a member of the Simmons First National Corp. board of directors and is a former chairman for the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce. He has received a number of awards including being elected to the Arkansas Construction Hall of Fame and being named the 2000 Business Executive of the Year by Arkansas Business. He is active in his church and with the Arkansas Arts Center.

School of Law,

1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Walton Arts Center

Speaker: Philip S. Anderson of Williams & Andersen of Little Rock is a 1959 graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Law and served as the president of the American Bar Association in 1998-99. Among many other appointments, Anderson was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the U.S. Circuit Judge Nominating Commission’s Panel for the Eighth Circuit, and was co-chair of the Federal Advisory Committee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 1987-88.