SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Fifty-five student athletes were honored at the annual President's Luncheon for Scholar Athletes for achieving a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5. Student athlete honorees invited faculty members as their guests and all were treated to a luncheon hosted by President Lyons.

USD's Faculty Athletic Representative and recently named the Carnegie Foundation's California Professor of the Year, Dr. Mitch Malachowski from the Chemistry Department addressed the crowd in opening remarks. Dr. Malachowski challenged student athletes to focus efforts on developing creativity as part of their educational pursuits.

Johnny Dee, a senior business administration major from the men's basketball team shared, "Now that I am in my last week of college and upon looking back, I could not be happier with my decision to come to the University of San Diego. I am a San Diego native and I can remember watching basketball games as young kid dreaming to play at this level. It is somewhat surreal that it all worked out and here I am, one week away from finishing four years at USD. I know I made the right decision, and know that this was exactly Gods plan for my life. The last four years have been the best of my life. I am so thankful for all of the people, experiences, and relationships that I have been a part of at USD. My dad always told me that there is much more to life than how many points per game I score or how high of a GPA I earn. He always told me that the greatest joys in life come from the relationships you build and USD and the Torero community has brought a lot of joy to my life".

The program included a presentation of certificates of academic excellence and achievement to scholar athletes. Ron Valenzuela, Assistant AD for Academics and Student Athlete Services stated, "the University of San Diego values the pursuit of academic excellence. Athletics, like any department on campus is an extension of this philosophy. We honor and recognize the academic excellence of these young men and women who epitomize the definition of student athlete by excelling in the classroom and competing at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics".

The program ended with closing remarks from Dr. Lyons who addressed the audience and shared her own personal history with sports. She congratulated the scholar athletes and thanked them for "taking advantage of the amazing opportunities they have in sport". President Lyons has enjoyed twenty-five years as the president of a college or university, the final twelve leading this phenomenal academic institution. This past year, she announced her intention to conclude her tenure as president at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year. "Make no mistake; I love this university and the privilege of leading it. At the conclusion of my presidency, I will have given this university my best and am ready to pass the baton". Vice-President for Athletics and Facilities Management, Ky Snyder presented Dr. Lyons with a personalized chair with '#1 fan' across the back. The chair will be placed in the front row of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Below is a complete list of the 55 recipients

Kathryn Adamson Senior, International Relations and Spanish double major
John Bacic Senior, Marketing major
Alexa Banker fall 2014 graduate, Bachelor of Arts in History
William Bastien Senior, Real Estate major
Melissa Beall Sophomore, Electrical Engineering major
Alaysia Brown Senior, Psychology major
Michelle Craft Junior, Biology major
Mathias Dahl Senior, Business Administration major
Johnny Dee Senior, Business Administration major
Noelle Devlin Senior, Behavioral Neuroscience major
Emily Dillon fall 2014 graduate, Bachelor of Science in Biology
Sophia Ederaine Senior, Psychology major
Montserrat Fernandez Servitje Sophomore, Environmental Studies major
Thomas Fiskerstrand Senior, Finance major
Olivia Gonzalez Sophomore, Communication Studies and Economics double major
Megan Goodman International Relations and Spanish double major
Forrest Greenwalt Sophomore, Finance major
Spencer Hoffman Sophomore, Accountancy major
Meredith Hoggatt Mechanical Engineering major
Olivia Houser Junior, Accountancy major
Andrew Ilijevski fall 2014 graduate, Bachelor of Accountancy
Brooke Jelniker Senior, Communication Studies major
Stephanie Jones Junior, Biology major
Christina Jonsson Sophomore, Marketing major
Sarah Kapple Sophomore, Industrial and Systems Engineering major
Nicholas Kerr Senior, Business Administration major
Rita Kuckertz Senior, Spanish and Psychology double major
Danielle LeMieux Junior, Biology major
Morgan Lester Sophomore, Finance major
Amy Maddox Senior, Biology major
Danielle Mavridis Junior, Mechanical Engineering major
Troy McClelland fall 2014 graduate, Bachelor of Accountancy
Megan McNamara Junior, Psychology major
Max Michaels Sophomore, Accountancy major
Taylor Noonan Junior, International Relations major
Ashton Padberg Junior, International Business major
Kalin Padberg Junior, International Business major
Victoria Ray Senior, International Business and French double major
Julian Ringhof fall 2014 graduate, Bachelor of Science and Arts in Mechanical Engineering
Hannah Saddler Junior, Physics major
Pierce Salamack Sophomore, Electrical Engineering major
Olivia Sandusky Sophomore, English major
Julia Sherwood Junior, English and Philosophy double major
Alexander Stimpfl Junior, Accountancy major
Marta Stojanovic Junior, Behavioral Neuroscience major
Luke Taffuri Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering major
Michael Thilenuis Junior, Accountancy major
Claire Tolan Sophomore, Biochemistry major
Edi Utibe Sophomore, Communication Studies major
Corinne Van Dyke Senior, International Relations major
Gwen Walter Sophomore, Finance and Real Estate double major
Allyson Ward Senior, Electrical Engineering major
Nicholas Watson Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering major
Trey Wheeler Senior, Finance major
Ben Wylly Senior, Political Science major