Olympian Rafer Johnson to speak at Commencement
Undergraduate and graduate ceremonies slated for May 16
Rafer Johnson overcame poverty and discrimination to become an Olympic athlete and humanitarian.
(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – May 5, 2008) Olympian Rafer Johnson will address the 350 bachelor’s degree graduates during the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony at California Lutheran University at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 16.
Johnson will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree during the ceremony.
Former Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Charles Weis will speak during the 2 p.m. Graduate Commencement Ceremony honoring the 225 students receiving master’s degrees and the 11 candidates for doctoral degrees. Weis will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.
Johnson overcame poverty and discrimination to become an Olympic athlete and humanitarian. He won silver in the decathlon at the 1956 Olympics, and took gold in 1960. He received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States in 1960. Johnson, who retired from athletics in 1960, is a member of the National Track & Field and U.S. Olympic halls of fame. In 1969, Johnson and a small group of volunteers founded California Special Olympics and he has avidly supported the organization through the years. Johnson also founded the Rafer Johnson Children’s Center in California for those with disabilities. He was inducted into the first class of the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame and was the final torchbearer at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In 2006, the National Collegiate Athletic Association named him among the 100 Most Influential Student Athletes of the past century.
In 2008, Weis left his post overseeing Ventura County schools after 15 years to become the Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools. He had worked in the county since 1973, serving as an educational consultant, teacher and administrator. He also taught part time in the schools of education at CLU, California State University Channel Islands, California State University Northridge and Pepperdine University. He has served on a variety of professional and community boards at both local and state levels. He has received countless awards, including the PTA Golden Oak Award, the Anti-Defamation League Award and the Association of California School Administrators Region XIII Marcus Foster Award for Administrator Excellence.
Both ceremonies will be held in Mt. Clef Stadium. CLU is located at 60 W. Olsen Road in Thousand Oaks.