“My father [Ben F. Johnson Jr.] was never good at filtering his thoughts. He was one of the most direct human beings I’ve ever known. He felt it important that anyone who dealt with him knew where he stood,” said Ben F. Johnson III. [Photo by Billy Howard, courtesy of Emory University]
A proven leader was needed to establish the new law school at Georgia State University. Ben F. Johnson Jr. was just the person. Though he had just retired from 35 years as professor and dean at Emory University School of Law, Johnson, who was in his late 60s, accepted the charge to be Georgia State Law’s founding dean.
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“He was always looking for the next challenge,” said his son Ben F. Johnson III. “This one, at this time in his life, seemed like David slaying Goliath. He was passionate about it.”
Passion, Johnson III said, was his father’s greatest leadership quality. That passion developed from his experience as a Depression-era night student at Georgia State University. He “learned about the significance of motivation, the effective use of time and the incremental power of persistence,” and his “career found direction.”
“But passion, by itself, doesn’t get you where you need to go,” Johnson III said. “He was knowledgeable and experienced, particularly as a law school dean, which he viewed as a calling.”
Political experience and savvy also played a role in his success. Johnson reached his goal because he had developed relationships in many sectors and knew how to communicate and work with them, his son said. The dean was transparent.
“My father was never good at filtering his thoughts,” Johnson III said. “He was one of the most direct human beings I’ve ever known. He felt it important that anyone who dealt with him knew where he stood.”
His courage gave him a willingness to speak truth to power. “He once told the Georgia State president that it was his [Johnson’s] responsibility to ‘protect the integrity of your [the president’s] aspirations.’”
When the Decatur Rotary Club voted against admitting women after Johnson’s impassioned plea of support, he resigned and walked out.
Johnson III recounts the enthusiasm his father brought to everything he did. He was excited about every student, every course he taught. The family still jokes about the blackboard in the kitchen.
“Every meal was exciting because he was going to use that meal to explain something new to you,” Johnson III said. “He had a blackboard there so that if he needed to diagram something, he could. “My dad displayed his passion in a lot of ways.”