SENATE MEMORIAL 112

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald Ortiz y Pino

A MEMORIAL

HONORING JOHN PEROVICH FOR HIS MANY CONTRIBUTIONS DURING HIS LIFE OF SERVICE AND FOR HIS DEDICATION TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND PHILANTHROPY AND ACKNOWLEDGING HIM AS A NEW MEXICO TREASURE.

     WHEREAS, John Perovich, age ninety-three, is a native New Mexican who grew up the son of a coal miner in Van Houten, a mining community near Raton; and

     WHEREAS, John graduated from Raton high school in 1942 and, from 1943 to 1945, served as a navigator in the United States army air corps; and

     WHEREAS, John and his wife, June Perovich, both grew up in the Raton area, met in high school and married in 1946 while they were students at the university of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, in 1948, John began his career at the university of New Mexico as a student assistant; and

     WHEREAS, John received a bachelor of business administration degree and a master of business administration degree from the university of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, from 1948 to 1982, John held numerous positions at the university of New Mexico, including purchasing agent, comptroller and vice president for business and finance; and

     WHEREAS, from 1982 to 1985, John served as president of the university of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, during his tenure as president of the university of New Mexico, John was credited with increasing the number and amount of presidential scholarships and raising funds for the university of New Mexico foundation; and

     WHEREAS, John was also instrumental in securing research grants and funding for two engineering chairs; and

     WHEREAS, at the time of his retirement, an Albuquerque Tribune editorial described John's administration as one of "slow, steady, peaceful and genuine progress — a kind of progress that reflects the character of Perovich himself"; and      WHEREAS, in 1985, John was named president emeritus of the university of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, in addition to his academic career, John is also very active in philanthropy; and

     WHEREAS, John continued to honor the legacy and wishes of Helen K. and Hugh B. Woodward through the establishment of the Sandia foundation; and

     WHEREAS, John served as chairman of the board of the Sandia foundation for forty-eight years; and

     WHEREAS, under his prudent leadership, the corpus of the Sandia foundation portfolio grew from four million dollars ($4,000,000) to eighty-eight million dollars ($88,000,000) today; and

     WHEREAS, the Sandia foundation beneficiaries include the university of New Mexico Woodward scholarship endowment, Dickinson college in Pennsylvania and various nonprofits in Albuquerque; and

     WHEREAS, under John's steadfast leadership and the guidance of the board of trustees, the Sandia foundation has contributed over thirty-eight million dollars ($38,000,000) to the university of New Mexico Woodward scholarship endowment, thirty-eight million dollars ($38,000,000) to Dickinson college and over eight million five hundred thousand dollars ($8,500,000) to Albuquerque nonprofits; and

     WHEREAS, John was also on the board of trustees of the Frank C. Hibben charitable trust and is a member of the educational retirement board; and

     WHEREAS, in 1994, John was awarded an honorary doctorate of law degree from Dickinson college and was recognized for his outstanding leadership contributions while serving as vice president for business and finance and president of the university of New Mexico and as chairman of the board of the Sandia foundation; and

     WHEREAS, in his retirement, John continues to exercise every day and has had time to perfect his golf game; and

     WHEREAS, at age eighty-four, John shot his age by scoring a forty-three on the front nine at the university of New Mexico championship golf course and a forty-one on the back; and

     WHEREAS, in a commencement speech to Maxwell high school, John stated that "all of us need people: a role model, someone we can look up to, admire and respect, someone who can motivate and inspire us and, most importantly, good teachers to lead us and help us find the way"; and

     WHEREAS, John's friends describe him as very effective, but in a quiet way; and

     WHEREAS, John's wife, June, credits the longevity of their marriage to "marrying a good man" who she thinks is "kinda cute"; and

     WHEREAS, John and June have two children, a son, Robert Perovich, and a daughter, Jane Wilkinson;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that John Perovich be honored for his many contributions from his life of service in the United States army air corps to his dedication to higher education, philanthropy and New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that John Perovich be recognized and acknowledged as a New Mexico treasure; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to John Perovich and his children.

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