(wolf clan), Recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award
She was recognized during Alfred State College’ 37th Annual Student Honors Convocation Virtual Ceremony (April 19, 2021)
Submitted by Lori Quigley
Alfred State College recently celebrated the achievements of hundreds of students virtually during the 37th annual Honors Convocation.
ASC President Dr. Skip Sullivan presented the Distinguished Alumni Award to 1956 graduate B. Marlene (Bennett) Johnson (executive secretarial science) “In recognition for your significant accomplishments in your personal and professional lives & for distinguished service in your community.”
Below is a copy of the speech that President Sullivan read:
B. Marlene (Bennett) Johnson graduated from Alfred State in 1956 with an Executive Secretarial Science degree. While a student at Alfred, Marlene worked as a clerk and typist for the Registrar in order to pay her tuition and room and board. Additional spending money was earned babysitting for faculty and staff. While a student, Marlene lived at the Alpha Beta Chi (ABX) sorority and served as their chaplain.
As a young child, Marlene was placed in foster care and was eventually transferred to the Thomas Indian School, a residential boarding school for orphaned and destitute Native American children. Considered a “survivor” of the Thomas Indian School, having lived there from 1942-1952, at age 15 Marlene was placed in a wage home and worked as a live-in maid. Today, that home is the residence for the SUNY Fredonia college president.
After graduating from Alfred and getting married, Marlene returned to the Seneca Nation and Allegany territory community. Marlene’s first job with the Seneca Nation was as a tribal advocate. Her responsibilities focused on assisting families in their adjustment to new homes built in the Jimersontown and Steamburg relocation areas following the construction of the Kinzua Dam. During this time, Marlene worked with the elder faithkeepers to secure HUD grant funding to build the community center that would be used to support longhouse activities, as well as assisting the Nation in procuring the funding to support the building of the two Seneca Nation libraries and the Seneca Iroquois Museum. She was also the Allegany territory newsletter (the Ohi:yo’) editor for many years, and also served as an elected tribal councillor. As tribal councillor, Marlene was selected to serve on the Salamanca lease negotiation team and represented the Seneca Nation as it lobbied Congress for funding owed to the nation. Today, her congressional testimony is used in native studies college courses.
Marlene later worked as the first director of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) at St. Bonaventure University establishing several initiatives that specifically targeted Native American college students. One was called “Bridging Two Worlds,” and became an annual gathering for Native college students to share experiences and gain more insights and support to improve their graduation success. To this day, many Native graduates credit Marlene for providing the support they needed to achieve their college degrees.
In the early 1990s, Marlene was chosen by her peers in Indian education from across New York State to serve as a delegate on the first White House Initiative on Indian Education. Later, she collaborated with the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) to garner their support in establishing the Native American Indian Education Association of New York and was recognized as a founding member in 2018.
Post-retirement, she worked as a long-term guidance counselor substitute for Randolph Union Free Academy, whose goal was to provide education to children that other districts could not or would not work with due to behavioral challenges.
Marlene married Gordy in 1956. Gordy is also an Alfred State graduate (1958). Marlene continues to share her wisdom and knowledge of her heritage with five daughters and several grand and great-grandchildren.
View Marlene’s portion during the virtual Honors Convocation at https://www.alfredstate.edu/honors – hers starts at 37:56.
