Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • SUMMER 2018 • sai-national.org 16 MEMBER LAUREATE O n Saturday, May 12, 2018, the Sigma Delta Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign honored one of their own, as Sheila Crump Johnson became a Member Laureate. e ceremony took place in the music auditorium in the Illinois School of Music with SAI members and alumni in attendance. Once the ceremony concluded, Johnson spoke about her time as an Illinois student and her illustrious career path. Earlier that same day, Johnson had been awarded an honorary degree, a Doctor of Fine Arts, at the University of Illinois's main commencement ceremony. As the ceremony was concluding, Johnson was introduced to the Commencement Band by SAI faculty advisor and conductor, Dr. Linda Moorhouse, who then extended an invitation to her to conduct the band. Johnson unreservedly accepted and led the band in the University of Illinois March by John Philip Sousa with grace and elegance! In 2015, Forbes Magazine listed Sheila Crump Johnson as one of America's wealthiest self-made women. She is certainly among the most successful and accomplished University of Illinois alumni to have graduated in the past fiy years. Johnson is a highly successful businesswoman and philanthropist, whose accomplishments span the fields of music, education, the arts, TV/film, hospitality, sports, leadership, and humanitarian causes. Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Illinois, Johnson started playing the violin at the age of nine. In 1966, she entered the University of Illinois on full scholarship to pursue music education and was initiated into SAI's Sigma Delta chapter in 1968. A trailblazer as a college student, she excelled in music, leadership, and sports. An accomplished violinist, Johnson performed with the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra and was an undergraduate protégé of Paul Rolland, a world-renowned violinist who taught in the Illinois School of Trailblazer Sheila Crump Johnson MEMBER LAUREATE Sheila Crump Johnson was initiated as a Member Laureate by the Sigma Delta Chapter in May. Johnson delivers the commencement at the University of Illinois at Urabana-Champaign after accepting an honorary doctorate.

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