John Elorriaga,second from left, singing as part of the "Song of the Basque" presentation in 1949.
Boise State University will award an honorary doctorate to John A. Elorriaga during spring Commencement ceremonies May 14.
The traditional ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. in Taco Bell Arena and will include a processional and recessional, individual recognition of graduates, and the hooding of doctoral candidates. No tickets are required.
Elorriaga embodies Boise State’s mission of public engagement. An avid supporter of education in the Northwest, he is a past recipient of the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Elorriaga is the son of Basque immigrants who ran a boarding house in Jordan Valley, Ore. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he became student body president of Boise Junior College (BJC) in 1948 and graduated in 1949. He later earned degrees from the University of Oregon, University of Pittsburgh, and the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.
He began his banking career at U.S. National Bank of Oregon (which later became U.S. Bancorp) and ultimately was named chief executive officer. Elorriaga’s belief in education has been evident throughout his career. He taught classes at the American Institute of Banking, Multnomah College and Portland State University. Additionally, he has served on advisory boards for Boise State and the University of Oregon.
While at BJC, Elorriaga was strongly influenced by three professors, whom he later honored by establishing fellowships in each of their names. In 1998, he created one of the first endowed professorship programs at Boise State. For 12 years, the Elorriaga Endowed Professorship has continuously provided two three-year professorships. He also established the Ada Burke Endowed Fellowship to recognize exemplary teachers who are active in the business community.
To foster the increasing technological needs of students and faculty, Elorriaga assisted in creating a state-of-the-art electronic meeting room, named the Hewlett-Packard and John Elorriaga Technology, Testing and Innovation Lab in the College of Business and Economics. Additionally, his support of the Basque Studies program has aided it in becoming the largest university program of its type outside of the Basque Country.
Elorriaga has provided leadership to many community and professional organizations at local and national levels, including the Boise State College of Business and Economics advisory council, American Bankers Association, Idaho Power Company, the Institute for Public Affairs Research, United Way, Leukemia Society of America and the Oregon Shakespearean Festival Association. Recently, he donated his family home for the ION (Idaho, Oregon and Nevada) Center, which serves as a regional museum.
Elorriaga has received numerous awards for his philanthropy, leadership and humanitarian endeavors. He is the ninth person to receive an honorary doctorate from Boise State. Past recipients include long-time Boise arts patron and philanthropist Velma Morrison (2010), Bethine Church, matriarch of the Idaho Democratic Party and widow of late U.S. Sen. Frank Church (2009), former astronaut/educator Barbara Morgan (2008), Micron Technology CEO Steve Appleton (2007), CH2M Hill President Ralph R. Peterson (2006), Chinese humanitarian Deng Pufang (2005), former Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus (2004) and Hollywood director Michael Hoffman (2004).
Oscar Alvarez, visiting scholar at the Center for Basque Studies in Reno, will be giving a presentation entitled “Before the Ikurrina was the Basque Flag. Icons of Basque Identity in the Americas (1880-1935).”