Distinguished grad honored
BUTLER TWP — John Connor, an anthropology and archeology professor who’s lectured at California University at Sacramento and has presented at symposiums internationally, is honored with this year’s Butler High School Distinguished Graduate Award.
The award was announced Tuesday night at Butler’s commencement, but he did not attend the event.
The 1949 graduate enlisted in the Army immediately after high school, serving during the Korean War.
Upon returning to the United States, he went to college on the GI Bill, majoring in anthropology. He went on to receive his master’s and Ph.D., specializing in psychological anthropology, Japanese studies and American studies.
He also began teaching while in graduate school, teaching high school English and social studies classes. He also taught at American River College, Sacramento City College and Sacramento State College during his doctoral studies at the University of California Davis.
Connor has been a teacher at California State University, Sacramento, for more than 30 years, writing more than 70 book and magazine articles, 59 papers and public addresses.
He also received four National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowships, four directorships of NEH Fellowship programs at the California State University, Sacramento, and three Fulbright scholarships for study in Japan, China and South Korea.
He has received three major awards from California State University Sacramento: The Distinguished Teaching Award, the Outstanding Scholarly Achievement Award and the John C. Livingston Award for Outstanding Intellectual Leadership.
He still lectures there.
