Ruth and Richard Pederson Memorial Scholarship

The story of Richard and Ruth Pederson and the benevolent gift of Pederson ranchland is an integral part of CLU’s history as told in the history, California Lutheran College: The First Quarter-Century. The story of the Ruth and Richard Pederson Memorial Scholarship is at heart the story of the bond of love between two sisters.

The dream of a Lutheran college on the West Coast first began to take shape in the early years of the 20th century. After two failed attempts, and the intervening Great Depression and World War II, the dream still persisted. A providential meeting between a Norwegian rancher (Richard Pederson) and the appointed Lutheran leader (Dr. Orville Dahl) created the long-awaited opportunity for the dream to be realized. That meeting resulted in Richard’s gift of his ranch totaling 130 acres to California Lutheran Educational Foundation, the precursor to CLC, in 1957.

The gift of the Pederson ranch was specifically for the purpose of creating a Lutheran college. Richard Pederson was the right person in the right place at the right time, and he felt he was accomplishing God’s will through the gift. And so the dream was launched. Richard married Ruth shortly after he made the gift, and the Pederson ranch house eventually was named a historical landmark in Ventura County. On the ranch were orange trees, walnut trees, chicken coops and other typical farm buildings—nothing there that faintly resembled a college. It is no surprise that the early students referred to themselves as pioneers.

Ruth’s sister Anna Johannessen lived in Laguna Hills but seldom found her way to Ventura County to visit her sister. Richard passed away in 1977, followed by Ruth in 1985. And while Anna had kept abreast of CLC’s growth through her sister, it was not until 1987 that she began to consider how she might memorialize Ruth’s name. In a letter to CLC Anna expressed her desire to establish a scholarship to honor them. Even though it was customary to list the husband’s name first, Anna chose to have her sister’s name precede Richard’s.

In the early years, scholarship donors frequently chose education or religion as the preferred majors of recipients. That was Anna’s choice as well. However, true to her own heritage, she added the words “with preference to Norwegians” on the official scholarship agreement. The Ruth and Richard Pederson Memorial Scholarship was first awarded in 1989. The scholarship continues to bless countless students in pursuing their academic goals. Anna passed away quietly in 1997 in Long Beach and it was only then that CLU learned she had included additional funds for the scholarship in her will.