John Swearingen is a retired Missouri attorney whose deep affection for UC Berkeley isn’t derived from being a Cal alumnus or professor, or even a Californian. It’s a heartfelt committment to public education and to Berkeley’s mission of service.
“It is meaningful to me that Cal is a public institution, a representation of a body politic deeply committed to inclusion, diversity, multiculturalism, and perhaps most of all, academic excellence,” says Swearingen. “I believe very strongly in public education and that an organized society has an obligation, both moral and practical, toward ensuring that its members are educated and allowed full intellectual and spiritual inquiry and discourse.”
Because Swearingen believes that people should put their “treasure where their values are,” he has established a charitable remainder unitrust to provide scholarships for future Cal students and has made several additional contributions to that trust over time.
Born in a small Missouri town, Swearingen contracted polio at age two and was rehabilitated at what is now called the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. He says his care at that facility exposed him to what can be accomplished with commitment, competence, and a devotion to excellence.
After completing his law degree at the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1971, Swearingen became an attorney for the City of St. Joseph, Missouri, and then the director of the research staff at the Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City. Because of physical complications related to polio, he retired early and spends his time as a train aficionado — popularly known as a “railfan” — and an accomplished photographer.
Of his contribution to Cal, says Swearingen: “I can think of no better gift than that of an education.”
