Mrs. Eunice W. Johnson, Johnson Publishing Co. Secretary-Treasurer And EBONY FASHION FAIR Producer/Director, Receives UNCF's Frederick D. Patterson Award

Jet, April 2, 2001

Mrs. Eunice W. Johnson, secretary-treasurer of Johnson Publishing Company and producer-director of the EBONY Fashion Fair, recently received the United Negro College Fund's highest honor, the prestigious Frederick D. Patterson Award.

Mrs. Johnson was honored by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) during the organization's 57th Anniversary Dinner at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City.

She received the Frederick D. Patterson Award in recognition and appreciation of her longtime commitment to higher education and support of the UNCF's mission to help deserving young men and women obtain a quality education.

Mrs. Johnson thanked the UNCF for the honor. "Education means the world to me," she said. "I believe that success in life begins with a good education. To receive the Frederick D. Patterson Award from the United Negro College Fund, an organization that I have loved and supported throughout the years, is quite tremendous."

She noted, "With this award you honor more than me, you have also honored my husband, John H. Johnson, our daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, the educators in my family who have gone before me, and each of the over 2,500 employees who make up the Johnson Publishing Company family throughout the United States, Africa, the Caribbean and Europe."

Mrs. Johnson recalled her family's proud commitment to education. "You might say that I inherited my thirst for education. My grandfather, Dr. William H. McAlpine, was the founder of Selma University, of course, a UNCF school. My grandfather had a burning desire to educate and help others."

She also shared how her parents helped shape her love for education. "I was also inspired by my parents. My father, Dr. Nathaniel D. Walker, always said that `if you want to make a difference in this world, you must first get an education.' I learned the value of education through his life because he worked after school and paid his way through Talladega College. He also paid his way through medical school at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina."

Mrs. Johnson added, "My mother, Mrs. Ethel McAlpine Walker, was the principal of the high school and taught education and art at the college level at Selma University. I went to Talladega, my father's alma mater, because I was, frankly, a daddy's girl! My sister, who became a Ph.D. professor at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, went to Spelman College, my mother's alma mater. I had two brothers who became physicians and practiced medicine in Chicago and Los Angeles. So, you can see, mine is a family with a history of a love for education and UNCF schools!"

She noted with pride how a love for education continues in her family today. "This love for education was passed on to my own daughter, who was reading everything in sight at the age of 2. My daughter, in turn, has passed on the love of reading and learning to my 12-year-old granddaughter."

She stressed her commitment to education. "Like those before me, I have a burning desire to educate. I feel strongly that all children should be able to read at a very early age.... I would like to see all young people get the greatest education they can--preferably from a UNCF school! I would actually love to see all young people stay in school until they receive their Ph.D.!"

Through EBONY Fashion Fair--which travels to 185 cities--Mrs. Johnson has raised more than $48 million for UNCF and other Black charities.

The Frederick D. Patterson Award is named for the College Fund's illustrious founder, who was a pioneering Black educator whose vision helped ensure the continued existence of historically Black colleges and universities and the education of Black students.

The other honorees at the anniversary dinner included Microsoft Founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, co-founders of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who also received the Frederick D. Patterson Award. Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, president-elect of Brown University, received the President's Award, and George L. Davis, dean emeritus of University College, Rutgers University-Newark (NJ) Campus, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. UNCF also presented Emmit McHenry, founder, chairman and CEO of NetCom Solutions International, Inc., with the President's Award.

UNCF also honored the TECC Builders Circle. The circle consists of corporations and foundations that have contributed $500,000 and above and individuals who have contributed $20,000 and above to UNCF's Technology Enhancement Capital Campaign (TECC).

Distinguished leaders honored were Michael H. Jordan, chair of the UNCF Board and retired chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation; Alfred G. Goldstein, member, UNCF Board of Directors and president and CEO, A.G. Associates; and member of the UNCF Board of Directors Jack L. Stahl, former president and COO, The Coca-Cola Company.

The corporations honored at the dinner were Microsoft, AT&T and Lockheed Martin. The foundations saluted were The Starr Foundation, Houston Endowment, the Annenberg Foundation, the Bush Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.