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Academic All-America® Spotlight: The intentional and inspirational journey of Dr. Calvin Johnson
by David Alexander – College of St. Rose, Academic All-America Hall of Fame Committee Member
One would be hard pressed to find a more worthwhile or unforeseen journey than the one that
Dr. Calvin Johnson has taken throughout his life.
Johnson’s lifelong excursion took him from an 11-acre farm in Muskegon, Mich., to an Ivy League school in Hanover, N.H., and on to one of the world’s most renowned medical centers. Johnson earned his undergraduate and M.D. degrees at Dartmouth, where he was a basketball Academic All-America in a class that consisted of Danny Ainge and Darnell Valentine.
His current role is as a Professor of Anesthesiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after previously specializing in anesthesiology, cardiac anesthesiology, and pediatric cardiac anesthesiology.
“I never imagined that I would be an Academic All-America. I was humbled and speechless when I received the news. It meant more to me than anything and is among my greatest accolades because it recognized me in two different arenas, especially as a basketball player that was listed at 5-10, 150 pounds,” Johnson said.
Johnson had drawn interest as an all-state basketball player from other schools such as Washington, Colorado and New Mexico, but was convinced to attend Dartmouth after Jack Schugars, one of his coaches at Oakridge High School, advised him to reach out to his friend and then Detroit Pistons head coach Herb Brown.
Johnson, a 1977 Oakridge alumnus, was a co-captain of the football team and a standout in track and field, in addition to an Associated Press first-team all-state honoree in basketball.
Despite Johnson’s athletic prowess, Brown encouraged him to attend Dartmouth because the Ivy League school was not only considered among the top academic institutions in the country, but would afford Johnson the opportunity to play Division I basketball while earning a valuable degree.
Johnson took that advice to heart and Dartmouth was the lone application he filled out. His application essay reflected his unassuming nature as he put down three simple bullet points on why he wanted to attend the school:
- to graduate from an Ivy League institution
- to play Division I basketball
- to attend medical school
After being accepted, he came face-to-face with the academic and athletic rigors, and social challenges, that Dartmouth presented.
“I had seven siblings and came from a place where AP courses were not offered and suddenly I found myself surrounded academically by students who spent the first few quarters repeating classes they had already taken at a private high school. Meanwhile, I had teammates who came from prestigious families such as Dave Shula, son of legendary NFL coach Don, and Jeff Kemp, whose father Jack served in Congress,” said Johnson.
To boot, Johnson had some advisors that tried to discourage him from applying for medical school.
“I had to address the stereotype of a college athlete. As such, I had to work harder. I was a biochemistry major, which was among the hardest at Dartmouth because of the breadth of classes and studies involved. I would sometimes travel Thursday through Sunday and come home and complete my labs on Sunday nights. However, I found that my professors responded to those who wanted to learn,” said Johnson.
Gary Walters, Johnson’s head coach at Dartmouth for his first two years, said those characteristics are what have made Johnson an inspiration to his coaches and teammates.
“Calvin being named an Academic All-America® was really the launching pad for his career. He has continued to go through glass ceilings. He was as indefatigable in his scholarly interests as he was on the court. I’ll never forget that there was always one light on when we were traveling on the team bus. It was flat-out impressive the way he took and has taken advantage of every opportunity presented to him,” said Walters, who is now the Ford Family Director of Athletics Emeritus at Princeton, and still stays in touch with his former player.
High school coach Schugars recalls his first “special” player fondly.
“Everyone at the school and in the community was elated when he went to Dartmouth. I am 75 years old and he still calls me “Coach,” which I consider a great compliment. He was the first very special player to me. I never had to worry about him doing the wrong thing,” said Schugars. “Calvin is the top student-athlete I have ever had in my 53 years of coaching. You could see his competitive drive, motivation and ability from the very beginning.”
Johnson’s ability and determination will be recognized in June when he is inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Like Schugars and Walters, those associated with Johnson offer similar thoughts on the accomplished doctor, who has been married to his wife Elaine for 37 years, with whom he has raised three children and now enjoys spending time with their three grandchildren.
“His personal values have translated to his career. His clinical skills and empathy are unsurpassed. He was on the front line of the front line with our intubation team at the outset of COVID. He is a leader that leads from the front,” said Thomas M. Priselac, President and CEO, Cedars-Sinai Health Systems.
“I point to Calvin as proof of the Dartmouth College experience and process in that if you admit someone as an athlete, it does not mean there has to be any compromise academically. I’m proud to have had him as a teammate and to be associated with him,” said Peter Robey, Interim Athletics Director at Dartmouth.
Johnson has done that and more. His advice to current students who are facing an unheard-of situation with the COVID pandemic is for them to also recognize it as an opportunity, and to not be afraid to seek guidance and to use the situation as an avenue for wellness.