USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Olympian Stacey Johnson (Orlando, Fla.) will be honored as one of four standout former college athletes to be inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame® in June.

A member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team and three-time National Team Champion, Johnson is the first fencer to receive the honor since the Hall of Fame was founded in 1988. The program recognizes former Academic All-Americas who received a college degree at least 10 years ago, have achieved lifetime success in their professional careers and are committed to philanthropic causes.

Johnson, who graduated from San Jose State University in 1980, joins an all-female class that includes three-time Olympic Champion Heather O’Reilly (University of North Carolina / soccer), 1999 National Women’s Collegiate Basketball Player of the Year Stephanie White (Purdue University / basketball) and four-time NCAA Div II Championships qualifier Rachel Price Bell (University of North Alabama / volleyball).

As a foil fencer, Johnson represented the United States at three Junior World Championships (1973, 1974 and 1975) before qualifying for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team. A four-time All-American at San Jose State University, Johnson held the collegiate individual win-loss record for team events at 305-1 as she led her team to four straight National Collegiate Team Championships (1976-79) while winning two individual titles as well in 1976 and 1979.

After her retirement from competitive fencing, Johnson went on to earn her master’s degree in communications in 1990 from the University of the Incarnate Word and her doctorate in educational administration in 2007 from the University of Texas at Austin.

While pursuing a professional career in higher education, Johnson continued to countless hours to helping grow and develop fencing in the United States. From 1992-1996, she served as vice president of USA Fencing and continued to demonstrate her leadership skills as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors from 1996-2004, including serving as a member of the USOC Executive Committee from 2002-2004.

In 2000, Johnson was elected as the first woman to hold the position of USA Fencing president for a quadrennial term. Among Dr. Johnson’s greatest achievements in this role was her advocacy for women’s saber to be added to the Olympic program – a feat that was realized when women’s saber made its debut at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.

Following the completion of her presidential term, Johnson served as chair of the USA Fencing High Performance Committee from 2006-2008.

Johnson, who serves as President of Valencia College's East and Winter Park Campuses, was selected for the FIE Women and Fencing Council in 2012 and remains the council’s chair.