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CORVALLIS - Oregon State University will present Distinguished Service Awards to two Oregonians who have merged successful professional careers with a passionate advocacy for education.

The university's highest service award will be presented at its June 17 commencement to James B. "Jim" Johnson, a vice president at Intel and a leader in the push for advancing high tech education; and to Bob Bailey, president and CEO of Orchard View Farms in The Dalles and a member of numerous education boards.

Johnson has been Intel's vice president for technology and manufacturing, and Oregon site manager for the largest public company in the state. His commitment to education is evidenced by his decision to take a leave of absence from Intel to spend time advocating for education investment at both the K-12 and higher education levels.

He serves on the governor-appointed Engineering and Technology Industry Council (ETIC), a major driving force for gathering public and private support of engineering and computer science education in Oregon. Johnson also has volunteered his leadership to OSU's Technology Initiative, which in 18 months raised more than $45 million to provide scholarships, endowment funds and capital investment for OSU's College of Engineering.

"In his capacity as vice president of Intel, Jim Johnson became the most visible advocate for increased support of higher education in Oregon," said Ron Adams, dean of the OSU College of Engineering. "He eloquently connected Oregon's needs for economic diversity with investments in engineering and computer science education across the state, and he has energized industry leadership to support a top tier engineering college at OSU."

Johnson and Intel created the Intel Scholars Program, which annually selects 18 Oregon high school seniors bound for engineering or computer science degrees to receive renewable $2,500 scholarships.

Bailey is one of Oregon's most prominent agri-business leaders and education leaders. He helped develop and promote technology that allows Oregon-grown cherries to maintain their freshness longer, opening up new markets in Asia.

His service to the agriculture industry is vast, and includes leadership on the National Cherry Grower's Board, the Oregon Cherry Grower's Inc. Board, the Columbia River Bank, and other organizations.

Bailey is known equally for his educational leadership. He served for eight years as a member of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, including a stint as president from 1992-93. During that time, he was credited with helping Oregon's public universities weather potentially devastating budget cuts that resulted from passage of Ballot Measure 5.

"Bob Bailey's thoughtful, caring leadership during this period contributed substantially to the board's ability to make wise choices and decisions that minimized the damage to OUS universities and their programs," said Roy Arnold, an OSU administrator in the College of Agricultural Sciences, who was the university's provost and executive vice president at the time. Bailey also has served on the school board for The Dalles District 12, and the Oregon Health Sciences University board. He is a trustee with the OSU Agricultural Research Foundation and the OSU/Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

The awards will be presented on Sunday, June 17, at OSU's commencement ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m. in Reser Stadium. It will be televised live on OPB.