"Hillman Library upgrades John Woodruff medal display," The Pitt News, 2011

"Hillman Library upgrades John Woodruff medal display," The Pitt News, 2011

This article describes how the African American Alumni Council sponsored an upgrade for the John Woodruff display to include a rotating case for the medal and an interactive touchscreen describing his achievements.

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On Aug. 4, 1936, John Woodruff became the first African-American to win a gold medal in the Berlin Olympic Games, a slap in the face to Adolf Hitler. During the 800-meter final, other runners boxed Woodruff in and forced him to stop in his tracks. After halting in the middle of the race, he caught up with and passed all the other runners. The symbol of his accomplishment is now memorialized in a display more than 6 feet high in Hillman Library. Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs Robert Hill and the director of the University Library System Rush Miller unveiled the medal at an event on Friday. The African American Alumni Council sponsored the display. Woodruff died on Oct. 30, 2007, at the age of 92. Pitt alumnus Woodruff donated his gold medal to Pitt in 1990. It was originally hung in a frame bolted on the wall of the library’s ground floor. Miller said that Woodruff insisted that his medal have a minimal display, but Miller thought it deserved better. “I thought it was inadequate,” Miller said. “I feel like this is a more fitting tribute than a frame and some pictures.” The current display in the first floor lobby features a case that rotates the medal and an interactive touchscreen describing Woodruff ’s life and achievements. The medal, which is made of nearly pure gold, is valued at more than $250,000. Woodruff came to Pitt in 1936 and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1939. In his freshman year, Woodruff was selected to join the U.S. Olympic team. Despite discussion of boycotting the Olympics because the Nazi Party controlled Germany, the U.S. decided to attend. It was at the Berlin Summer Olympics that 21-year-old Woodruff refuted Adolf Hitler’s theory of Aryan race superiority by winning his track event. Before his Olympic debut, Woodruff set track records at Connellsville High School as well as county, district and state records. He came to Pitt on an athletic scholarship. Among those who spoke at the unveiling was Woodruff’s son, John Woodruff Jr., who joked that his greatest achievement was being John Woodruff’s son. He encouraged athletes in attendance to be determined, a value he learned from his father. Before the unveiling, Woodruff Jr. said that the rest of his family, particularly his mother, would have liked to have been able to come to Pitt for the occasion. “We all thank you for honoring my father,” he said.