Fund: Oliver and Carol Johnson Endowed Award in Philosophy Department: Philosophy Dept D01021 Purpose: Undergraduate Student Support History and Purpose: Oliver Johnson, professor of philosophy emeritus and one of UC Riverside's founding faculty members, left a lasting image on the campus. After his death in 2000, Johnson's children were actively looking for a way to keep his legacy going at the school he loved so dearly. They found the opportunity to do so in an endowed scholarship, made on behalf of Oliver and his wife, Carol. The endowed scholarship, called the "Oliver and Carol Johnson Endowed Award in Philosophy," will give the opportunity for a graduating UCR senior majoring in philosophy to continue his or her studies at the graduate level. Financial security often plays a role in a student's decision of whether or not to continue studies after obtaining a degree, with the benefits a scholarship helping to curb financial burdens. Oliver Johnson, born in Everett, Washington, grew up in San Diego, California. He received his bachelor's degree in 1944 from Linfield College in Oregon, which was awarded in absentia as he was serving in the United States Navy. After serving in the Navy from 1943-1946 during World War II and participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Johnson did graduate work at the University of Oregon and Oxford University, finishing his M.A. and Ph.D. at Yale, where he taught for a year before leaving to join the faculty at UCR in 1953. He chaired the Department of Philosophy for many years and was active in both the UCR and system wide Academic Senates. He was named the Faculty Research Lecturer in 1982 and had a system wide Academic Senate award for meritorious service named in his honor. He retired from UCR in 1989. Johnson had one son, Stuart Johnson of Louisiana, and three daughters, Julie Katayama of Oceanside, Elizabeth Eckmann of Philadelphia, and Melinda Johnson-Wright of Fremont, Calif. Inspired by their father's passion for philosophy and education, his children were more than happy to give back to the campus that their father cherished so much and spent so much time helping to develop. "Our father instilled in his four children a deep love for the pursuit of knowledge," Stuart Johnson said. "He devoted his life to philosophical inquiry and we feel it only appropriate to support furthering this effort in his and our mother's name through the Oliver and Carol Johnson Endowed Award in Philosophy." Selection and Guidelines: This fund is for the benefit and support of an award for an undergraduate student majoring in Philosophy. Recipient to be chosen by Chair of Department of Philosophy and the fund will be administered by Financial Aid. Request for Information: Request Scholarship Information