Alumni Community Service Award

honors alumni who have enhanced the prestige of the University by virtue of their character and integrity through outstanding service in their community.

Ernest Johnson ’60 received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Valparaiso University in mathematics. He then earned his Master of Arts degree in journalism from Southern Illinois University in 1962. Ernest began a 30-year career in 1961 with IBM in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., as a programmer trainee. Later, he held development, marketing, and staff positions with IBM, working in Colorado, California, Missouri, and Texas. Ernest’s last IBM position was as a Consulting Marketing Support Representative, responsible for an IBM customer-satisfaction process. After IBM, he established Six Sigma Communications, a consultancy, to work with applicants for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Ernest retired in 2003. He has been an active volunteer in many civic and community activities in Fort Worth, Texas, where he lives. Among his roles, Ernest has been a member of his city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment and Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Homelessness; was president of Senior Leadership Associates (affiliated with the national Retired and Senior Volunteer Program); and is currently a volunteer carpenter for Habitat for Humanity, the Fuller Center for Housing, and the Texas Ramp Project. Ernest is also active at Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Worth, where he has served on the church council, and currently is a member of the Seminary Intern support team. He has also been an active Valpo volunteer, as a member of the Valparaiso Admission Network and a past member of the Valparaiso University Alumni Association Board of Directors.