San Diego State University honored alumnus and Imperial County District 1 Supervisor John Renison with a Monty Award this weekend during its annual awards ceremony for distinguished alumni.
Renison is a 1997 master’s graduate of SDSU-IV and also a former city of Calexico mayor and City Council member.
As a past director of development at SDSU-IV, he raised the school’s visibility and helped secure funding for the establishment of the school’s Brawley satellite campus.
“The things he’s done is really worthy of the kind of recognition we were able to give him,” SDSU-IV Dean David Pearson said. “It’s a tremendously important distinction as someone as someone who has been instrumental in promoting the Imperial Valley campus.”
Pearson said Renison was one of the first to welcome him as he came into the position in 2010.
While Renison no longer works for the university, he has continued to advance the school’s initiatives such as its Center for Energy Sustainability being built in Brawley.
“This is a guy who loves the Valley and is a genuinely good man who tries in my observation in everything he does to give back to the Valley,” Pearson said.
Renison said he was surprised to be this year’s recipient of the award.
“I’m certainly honored and felt that it was unexpected. … I grew professionally there and entered politics while at San Diego State,” he said. “I think that San Diego State is part of the economic engine pushing forward the future of the Valley.”
Renison was one of 11 winners of the award, which was presented during a black-tie affair with more than 425 people in attendance in San Diego on Saturday. The award is sponsored by the SDSU Alumni Association and began in 1971.
It is presented to alumni from each of SDSU’s seven academic colleges, the Imperial Valley campus, library and information access as well as to an exceptional alumni volunteer and an outstanding university employee.
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
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