News from Gustavus Adolphus College

Office of News Services ~ 800 W. College Ave. ~ St. Peter, MN 56082-1498

Director Stacia Senne ~ (507) 933-7510 ~ ssenne@gustavus.edu

Dennis Johnson, Clyde and Lois Allen to Receive
Greater Gustavus Awards from Gustavus Adolphus College

ST. PETER, Minn. (May 12, 2000) – Two Greater Gustavus Awards will be presented Saturday, May 27 during the annual Commencement and Reunion Weekend at Gustavus Adolphus College. This distinguished honor is the highest award given by the college’s Alumni Association. It is presented to individuals who have “significantly advanced and aided Gustavus Adolphus College.” Dennis Johnson of St. Peter and Clyde and Lois Allen of Bloomington will be honored for their commitment to the college.

Dennis Johnson, who is retiring from Gustavus this spring, has served as Vice President for College Relations (1996-2000), in conjunction with stints as Interim Vice President for Development (1999, 1997), and Vice President for Church Relations (1985-96). A 1960 Gustavus graduate, Johnson served the college in various capacities prior to joining the administration in 1985. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees, a member of the Alumni Association, a member and past president of the Alumni Association Board, a Class Agent, and general chair of the Alumni Fund.

Vice President Johnson has played a significant role in:

developing the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations;
building strong relationships with churches and pastors;
directing the offices of alumni affairs, church relations, news services, public affairs, and publications with efficiency and sensitivity;
enhancing the college’s communications and public relations efforts; and
maintaining the momentum of the development staff and its fund-raising efforts, including leading the recent, successful completion of a challenge grant for the new campus center and outdoor track/soccer facility.

“He has served students and fellow staff with his attention to the marketing and integrity of the college as well as provided critical leadership and coordination of public relations efforts during the days following the 1998 tornado,” states the award nomination. “The College owes a great part of its recent successes to Dennis Johnson’s careful shepherding of resources and attention to the finer details that lend character and distinctiveness to the institution.”

Johnson was born and raised in Akron, Iowa. He is an ordained Lutheran pastor who, prior to 1985, served parishes in St. Peter, Minn., and Dallas, Texas.

Clyde and Lois Allen are both longtime volunteers and supporters of the college. Clyde, president of Clyde Allen Consulting and a retired UNISYS executive (now LORAL Defense System, Eagan), is chair of the college’s Board of Trustees. A 1956 Gustavus graduate, Clyde first joined the governing board in 1982. Clyde has served his alma mater in many ways. For years he has been a loyal participant in Phonorama campaigns to raise money for the Alumni Fund. With distinction, he has twice served as trustees chair – a position of critical responsibility for the college’s welfare. “In the weeks and months that followed the 1998 tornado, Clyde provided outstanding encouragement and support for college officials and volunteers in the campaign of Rebuilding a Greater Gustavus,” states the nomination. When Clyde has not been board chair, he has chaired board committees.

Lois (maiden name Madsen), a former Gustavus student and recent honorary bachelor’s degree recipient, has served the Alumni Association as a Class Agent, but she is commended for her leadership in Gustavus Library Associates, a friends of the college organization dedicated to the support and advancement of the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library. Lois has served on the board of this volunteer organization in several capacities, including two terms as president. She chaired the 1989 Royal Affair, a gala fund-raising event held every other year in the Twin Cities. “Her organizational skills have been crucial in governance and fund-raising matters concerning Gustavus Library Associates and its goal of support for the library and the college.”

Together the Allens have been successful in obtaining and increasing corporate support for the Royal Affair. They are recognized as “a couple whose service to the college has been of an exceptionally high order.”

Clyde is a native of Minneapolis and an Anoka High School graduate; Lois is a native of the Fairmont area and a high school graduate of East Chain.

Gustavus Adolphus College is a residential, liberal arts college that grants undergraduate degrees in 65 majors. Fully accredited and host of a local chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Gustavus is internationally recognized for its annual Nobel Conference.

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