Editor’s Note: Each year, The Daily Eastern News picks a person or group of people as the Person of the Year. This award is given to the individual or individuals who have most impacted Eastern students in a positive way during the course of the year.

The Daily Eastern News’ Spring 2009 editorial board, comprised of Kristina Peters, editor in chief; Dylan Polk, opinions page editor; Matt Hopf, news editor; Tyler Angelo, managing editor; Kevin Murphy, Sports Editor; Erin Matheny, photo editor; and Nicole Weskerna, online editor, named James Johnson, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, as this year’s Person of the Year.

Before long, there will not be many students left that remember an Eastern campus without the Doudna Fine Arts Center. Few will remember the bare steel skeleton propping up a single, concrete wall or walking around a gaping hole in the ground, flanked on all sides by a flimsy, chain-link fence.

Fewer still will recall attending an art class in what was once an Osco drug store or viewing orchestral concerts in McAfee Gymnasium. It stands to good reason, however, that many will remember the name of James Johnson, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and this year’s The Daily Eastern News’ Person of the Year. And, most likely, they will remember him for much more than a handful of years.

A 1963 graduate of Emporia State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Art, Dean Johnson went on to receive his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kansas in 1970.

He spent nearly a decade teaching at the University of Kansas and Arkansas State University before making his way to Eastern.

Along the way, he has spearheaded the effort to bring the Doudna Fine Arts Center from a plan on a desk to fruition, brought together several various departments to form the College of Arts and Humanities and strived to make the college a continued success.

Though, as several people attest, including Jeffrey Lynch, associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Johnson is much more than an administrator.

Johnson has a sense of humility that can be disarming and one that is rarely found in academia, Lynch said.

“You simply cannot meet a nicer man,” he said. “People respond to how genuinely kind he is and how humble he can be about his talent – and he is extremely talented.”

Having formed the College of Arts and Humanities alongside Johnson 13 years ago, Lynch has seen first-hand the type of leadership abilities that bring nothing but praise from the likes of President Emeritus Lou Hencken and Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“This job means keeping eight juggling balls in the air at all times, and then people come along and throw you three, four, five more balls,” Lynch said.

Hencken said Johnson’s enthusiasm and the fact he believes in the College of Arts and Humanities so strongly “shines through.”

“Jim Johnson is an example of one of the great people and leaders this university has,” Hencken said.

Lynch said one of the keys to Johnson’s success, and by association that of the college itself, is that “he has never lost sight of the fact that the college is much more than the sum total of its faculty, students and staff.”

Dan Crews, director promotions and publicity for the College of Arts and Humanities, said it was his first interaction with Johnson that left a lasting impression.

In 1989, when Crews came to Eastern, Johnson was working as the chair of the art department.

“We had weekly meetings in the dean’s office,” Crews said. “(Johnson) was one of the first people who came up and greeted me and wished me well. I have always remembered that gesture of genuine hospitality and welcome.”

Crews said Johnson has always displayed concern and care for both the faculty and students of the college.

“He was never too busy to help someone in need,” Crews said. “Once you get to know someone like Jim Johnson, you can’t help but admire him.”

Johnson, who will be retiring in June, said once someone gets to this point in his or her career, they cannot help but look back at their personal and professional experiences.

“I’ve been very blessed with the people and opportunities I’ve had,” Johnson said. “To be able to work with the faculty and staff to develop a new college and to be able to help shape its future has been very rewarding.

“It’s just been a fantastic experience. I cannot think of a better career to have than the one I’ve had.”

And Johnson’s feelings about the college reflect the sentiment felt by Crews all those years ago. When speaking of the success of the college, he is quick to say that the success lies in its departments and the faculty, staff and students that make them possible.

“The college is all about the students. The students and the faculty making themselves available to those students,” he said. “I’ve always tried to be a reflection on those values.”

In an e-mail, Lord called Johnson an “exemplary administrator.”

“Eastern and the College (of Arts and Humanities) have been blessed to have him serve so effectively as dean,” Lord said. “As wonderful as he is as an administrator, however, he is an even more wonderful person.”

Beyond the day-to-day administrative functions, though, lies perhaps Johnson’s greatest achievement – one of the largest and most visible examples of his ‘beyond the call’ efforts – the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

“(Doudna) has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me, both personally and professionally,” he said. “But really, it was a collaborative university effort. We all had a strong belief it would happen. A great deal of credit must go to the faculty and students who rose to that occasion (of difficulty during construction.)”

If Johnson seems humble and eager to spread any and all credit to others, it’s because he is. Though, there is no shortage in those around him who would give all credit back to him.

On discussing the creation and existence of Doudna Fine Arts Center, Lynch said simply that Johnson was “absolutely central.”

Hencken, who made several trips, traveling across the country with Johnson in order to acquire private money that was necessary to the completion of the building, said it was Johnson’s dedication to the college and making sure faculty and staff knew that.

“I don’t think anyone anticipated the amount of time we would be out of Doudna,” Hencken said. “Jim kept the department running. I think the faculty realized that he was looking out for their best interests.”

Hencken recalled back to a time when multiple classes had to be held off campus and the difficulty of juggling scheduling and logistics.

“I’m 99 percent sure enrollment in those areas (displaced off campus) actually went up over those years,” he said. “To have classes in an old grocery store and to see enrollment actually go up really speaks to (Johnson’s) quality of leadership.

“Caring. Real. Genuine. Jim Johnson is definitely going to be missed.”

Lord said it is difficult to even imagine Doudna, as it exists today, without Johnson.

“Dean Johnson has been instrumental in making it all possible,” Lord said. “Under his leadership, the fine arts and the fine arts center have brought Eastern to a new level of excellence in this area.”

Crews called the fine arts center a “gem in the state of Illinois.”

“From the first moment it was discussed.to the day Doudna Fine Arts Center opened, Jim Johnson poured his heart and soul in the planning,” Crews said.

“He simply wouldn’t let it die,” Hencken asserted.

Through all the difficulties in acquiring funds and avoiding the inevitable red tape that accompanies such endeavors, though, Johnson would not let the project fail.

“He kept everybody believing and he kept pushing,” Hencken said.

As he prepares for retirement, those around him cannot help but ponder at the difficulty of replacing Johnson.

“He’s dedicated his life to the institution,” Crews said. “He never did it for personal glory but for the over-all betterment of the university.”

And as always, Lynch has seen and felt the strains of the job and realizes what Johnson’s retirement will mean not only for the university but also for the man himself.

“If ever a man has earned retirement, it’s Jim Johnson,” Lynch said. “He can go back to his family that he loves deeply. This job requires sacrifice, it will eat you up.

“But he gets to go back to his art and I think he will thrive in retirement.”

Johnson also acknowledges that he could not have done this job alone.

“I always felt I had the support of my colleagues and the university,” he said. “But especially my family, my wife Wanda, my three sons: Kirby, Brent and Tyler, and my daughter-in-law, Bridget.

“I’m very proud of this college,” he said. “Again, I’ve been so blessed to have had the opportunities I’ve had.”

It seems few, if any, around Johnson could find anything less than glowing remarks about his impact on campus, his impact on the faculty, staff and students that comprise the College of Arts and Humanities, and those that work with and around him.

Lord’s feelings on Johnson?

“I would simply say, be sure to thank Dean Johnson for all he has done,” Lord said. “And tell him how great his legacy is and will be. He will be missed profoundly.”

Perhaps Crews sums it up most succinctly: “He’s an Eastern icon.”

And he is The Daily Eastern News’ Person of the Year.

Daily Eastern News’ past Persons of the Year

2008 – Ken Baker, interim athletic director

2007 – Lou Hencken, president

2006 – Ryan Berger, student body president

2005 – Alan Baharlou, former geology chair

2004 – Johnetta Jones, former director of minority affairs

2003 – Father Chris Brey and Roy Lanham of the Newman Catholic Center

2002 – Lou Hencken, president

2001 – Rick Samuels, men’s basketball coach

2000 – David Radavich, University Professionals of Illinois negotiating team

1999 – Melissa Gertin, student who pushed for Panther Express

1998 – Members of The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 981

David Thill can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].