Alumnus Paul Ignatius earns ‘Hall of Fame’ status

Arriving at USC in 1938, Paul Ignatius has witnessed the catapulting rise of the university over the past 86 years.

“It was a good school in my day,” said Ignatius, who earned his bachelor’s degree in English and history from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in 1942. “I’ve taken great pride in seeing USC become a great research university.”

Selected as a 2014 Half Century Trojans Hall of Fame honoree, Ignatius will be honored during a ceremony Oct. 28 at Town and Gown on the University Park Campus. He is among four USC alumni given this distinction for exemplifying the ideals of the Trojan Family and making a significant impact in his or her field.

USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett will speak at the Hall of Fame Luncheon held by the USC Alumni Association.

“This honor means a great deal to me,” Ignatius said. “It comes from alumni such as myself and to get approval from peers is rewarding.”

Ignatius said USC over the decades has moved boldly in the sciences and engineering. He called the medical school first-rate and the cinematic arts school one of the great emblems of the university.

But, he said, the backbone of USC is its liberal arts education.

“Grounding in liberal arts equips one to evaluate complex issues that arrive with technology and scientific advances and rapid social change,” he said. “Understanding history and civilization helps one to appraise things that are happening now and happening at an accelerated rate.”

Ignatius is himself part of American history. After graduating from USC Dornsife, he entered an MBA program at Harvard University but was commissioned as a naval officer in World War II.

After four years in the service, he returned to Harvard to complete his business degree and went on to work in the private sector. In 1961, Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense at the time, offered Ignatius the job of Assistant Secretary of the Army. Ignatius served for eight years in the presidential administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, first as Assistant Secretary of the Army, then as Under Secretary of the Army and Assistant Secretary of Defense, and finally in 1967 as Secretary of the Navy.

In honor of his service, the Navy announced last year that an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer currently under construction will bear the name USS Paul Ignatius. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, the most famous American destroyer officer of World War II and later Chief of Naval Operations.

Following his government service, Ignatius became president of The Washington Post for two years and president of the Air Transport Association for 15 years. He has authored two books: On Board: My Life in the Navy, Government, and Business (Naval Institute Press, 2006) and Now I Know in Part: Stories of My Growing Up (American Literary Press, 2000).

When asked what kind of advice he would give to students arriving at USC, Ignatius quipped, “Students don’t need advice from old guys like me.”

But then the 94-year-old offered, “Stretch your mind, challenge your assumptions, broaden your views. Prepare yourself to confront the world’s social and economic problems. Make the most of these years. Seek to find the right answers to the complex problems.”

USC Dornsife’s Michelle Boston contributed to this report.