[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 331]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO CHARLENE JOHNSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 12, 2011

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
trailblazing woman in the field of athletics, who represents our shared 
alma mater with tremendous leadership. Charlene Johnson is being 
honored by the Baltimore Alumni Chapter of South Carolina State 
University on January 16, 2011 for her 28 years of outstanding 
contributions to the University's Athletics Department. It is my honor 
to join my fellow alumni in applauding her great work.
  Charlene Johnson is currently serving her seventh season as athletics 
director at South Carolina State University. After guiding the 
Department in an interim capacity in 2003, Johnson was elevated to the 
athletics director on a permanent basis in the spring of 2004. Her 
influence is being felt well beyond the Orangeburg campus. In 2007, 
Johnson became the first female to serve as chairperson of the 
Directors of Athletics in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. She has 
also served on several NCAA committees.
  The 2010-11 athletic season marks Mrs. Johnson's 28th year as a 
member of the SC State Department of Athletics, making her one of just 
three athletics staff members with more than 25 years of service to the 
University's athletics department. During her tenure as director of 
athletics, three different SC State teams have brought home conference 
championships, with three earning NCAA tournament appearances. The 
Bulldog football team won the 2008 and 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic 
Conference titles and made back-to-back trips to the prestigious FCS 
playoffs, and was league Co-Champion in 2004.
  The women's tennis team has won the last six MEAC tennis crowns and 
made as many appearances in the NCAA Tennis Championship, while the 
men's squad has earned six of the last seven MEAC titles and as many 
berths to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to being named director of 
athletics, Johnson served seven years as the senior woman administrator 
and associate athletic director for the university. During that time 
she helped usher in a new era in SC State Athletics, assisting in the 
planning, directing, and coordinating of all areas of the department of 
athletics.
  Johnson began her illustrious career in athletics at SC State in 1983 
when she became the first woman to be appointed to a full-time coaching 
position as an assistant on the Lady Bulldog basketball team. Since 
that time, she has served the university in a number of capacities, 
including head volleyball coach, head women's tennis coach, and 
assistant women's basketball coach. She also spent two terms as the 
school's interim director of athletics.
  Johnson's success as a leader in athletics is grounded in her success 
as a player. On the basketball court she became a part of SC State 
history early on when, she helped the Lady Bulldogs capture the 1979 
AIAW National Championship with a 73-68 win over Dayton in Fargo, North 
Dakota. After her playing career, Johnson continued to help her alma 
mater and the women's basketball program. As a member of the coaching 
staff, she was instrumental in keeping the Lady Bulldogs among the top 
teams in the Southeast.
  In 1990, Johnson guided the Lady Bulldog volleyball team to its sole 
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship, earning MEAC Coach of the 
Year honors for her efforts. She also earned MEAC Coach of the Year 
accolades for women's tennis in 1986.
  In recognition of her efforts, Johnson was inducted into the SC State 
Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 as an administrator and received special 
recognition in 2000 as a member of the 1979 AIAW National Championship 
team. Mrs. Johnson, who earned both her bachelor's (1980) and master's 
(1987) from SC State, is married to Virgin Johnson, Jr., and they are 
the proud parents of two children: Taylor and Virgin (Trey) III.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in recognizing 
the significant contributions of Charlene Johnson as an athlete, a 
coach and an athletics administrator. She has built an outstanding 
legacy at South Carolina State University, and is a trailblazing role 
model for women pursuing careers in university athletics. I 
congratulate her on a job well done and thank her on behalf of all 
South Carolina State alumni for her many contributions to the 
university.

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