Erickson, Johnson to be recognized on Founder's Day at Bradley

Peoria, Illinois...September 24, 2003...Dr. James H. Erickson will be recognized with the 2003 Distinguished Alumnus Award, and Rep. Connie "LaJoyce" Johnson will be recognized with the 2003 Outstanding Young Graduate Award during the Founder's Day luncheon on Friday, October 3, at Bradley University.

The University celebrates Founder's Day annually with two events--the Founder's Day convocation and the Founder's Day luncheon. The convocation will begin at 10 a.m. in Dingeldine Music Center. During the convocation, founder Lydia Moss Bradley will be remembered and members of the Bradley community will be recognized for achievements in scholarship, teaching, and service. Additionally, five alumni will be inducted into the Centurion Society. The Society was created by the Board of Trustees to honor alumni for their achievements in business, public life, and professions.

The Founder's Day reception will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Michel Student Center ballroom followed by a luncheon at noon. Sponsored by the Central Illinois Bradley Alumni Chapter, the program will include the presentation of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Outstanding Young Graduate Award, and the Lydia Moss Bradley Award. The cost is $13 per person and reservations are necessary. For more information or to make reservations, call the Alumni Office at 677-2241.

Erickson is vice chancellor emeritus for university advancement at the University of California, Merced, and vice chancellor emeritus at the University of California, Riverside.

He is a former assistant to the president, dean of students, and associate provost at Bradley.

Erickson has received a number of awards including the Fulbright Academic Administrator Award from the International Centre for Higher Education, the Citizen of the Year Award in Peoria and Riverside, the Vernon Jordan Humanitarian Award from the National Urban League, the Martin Luther King Visionaries Award, the National Distinguished Alumnus Award from Lambda Chi Alpha, and the Thomas Rivera Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as president of the Urban League in two states and has been a member of a number of hospital, bank, and non-profit boards.

Johnson is a representative for St. Louis City District 61 in the Missouri House of Representatives and adjunct professor at the Saint Louis University School of Public Health. Rep. Johnson received a bachelor of science degree in communications/radio/tv/video with a minor in psychology and news. She received a juris doctorate and master's degree in health administration from Saint Louis University in 1996.

Her extensive experience includes serving as assistant to the director of the division of aging for the Missouri Department of Social Services, where she oversaw the minority-aging program, provided leadership, and staffed the Commission on the Special Health, Psychological and Social Needs of Older Minority Individuals and the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging. She also worked on personnel advisory board cases, childcare licensing and other programming issues as part of the legal team in the Office of the General Counsel for the Missouri Department of Health.

Johnson is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Mound City Bar Association. She serves on several committees and has been recognized with a number of awards including Bradley's Mortar Board and President's Service Award, and the Danforth Leadership Award.