UC’s Dean Lawrence J. Johnson, a transformative figure in CECH, celebrates 25 years

Anyone who’s spent time around Lawrence "Larry" J. Johnson in his 25 years of deanship with the University of Cincinnati’s College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology has probably heard these words. And of course it’s true – the standard tenure of an academic dean is just five years (or less), making Johnson’s quarter century in the Teachers-Dyer Complex anything but “typical.”   

There’s more to Johnson’s unique career than a lengthy tenure, though. As he himself likes to point out, “I doubt there’s many deans that were a hot tar roofer.”

For Johnson, the long-term goal had always been a career in academia. After four years of teaching public school, he headed to the University of Illinois to pursue his master’s degree in special education with an emphasis in school counseling. From here, he applied for and was accepted to the doctoral program, focusing on statistics and research methodology in special education.

Johnson’s impact on UC is, in a word, undeniable. His many experiences and accolades across 30-plus years at the university include numerous leadership searches for cornerstone members of UC history, including chairing five dean searches, serving on two provost searches, and leading searches for the vice president for finance and two directors. He was instrumental in various initiatives, from leading the strategic planning initiative for former president Nancy Zimpher to twice leading university re-accreditation to developing (and leading) the Gen-1 living-learning program.

And Johnson served in a wide variety of roles instrumental to university operations, such as CECH Associate Dean of Research; Department Head of Special Education and Early Childhood; Full Professor of Special Education and Early Childhood; Associate Professor of Special Education and Early Childhood; State Representative and Co-Director of the University of Cincinnati Institute of Community Partnerships; Director of the Arlitt Child and Family Research and Education Center; Founder and Director of the Evaluation Services Center; Vice-Chair of the University of Cincinnati Research Institute; Interim Provost of the University of Cincinnati; and executive committee member for former president Greg Williams.

He chaired the Council of Deans four times; created curriculum; and authored seven books, 33 chapters, 75 refereed publications and 73 evaluation reports. Many of his publications were honored, often awarded article of the year, and he served as editor of numerous esteemed education journals.

He’s especially proud of the fact that, after teaching in three different states – Illinois, Alabama and Ohio – he’s been honored by all three for contributions in relation to exceptional children.

In terms of legacy, though, Johnson’s 25 years as dean of CECH, an academic position accepted in 1999, is a pinnacle of success by any metric. And it was, in fact, an interest in moving into a dean position that first drew him to UC, for a role as department head of the Early Childhood Special Education program that he hoped, in time, could lead to a deanship role.

“At that point I’d brought in about maybe $30 or $40 million in external funds, so they hired me to try to get more money into the college,” he says. “They were trying to build the research portfolio of this college.” He lobbied against closure of the struggling Arlitt Center, which he evolved into the profitable research center it is today. The success of this project led to the then-dean asking Johnson in 1993 to become an associate dean to facilitate more research at the college.

“A way that you do that is to create centers, where you can create something that brings people together,” he explains. “That’s why we then began developing the centers in the college.”

As Johnson prepares for his July 2024 retirement, he can do so knowing that CECH is in a state of financial and reputational security all too rare for higher education. And the transition of leadership to incoming dean Lisa Huffman is empowered all the more by a college uncommonly equipped to transform student lives, which has always been at the heart of his service.

"I think his greatest impact is probably because he saw the college as student centered," says Nancy Zimpher, former UC president. "This is a college that puts students in the middle of their work."

"He has such deep concern for students," says UC provost emeritus and art history professor emeritus, Kristi Nelson. "He’d take money out of his own pocket to help a student if it was necessary!" Human Services professor emeritus Janet Graden agrees, saying, "He cares so much about our students and the whole college.”

Dean Johnson’s UC career has earned many descriptors, including distinguished, impactful, progressive … and delicious. Known as “the cooking dean” to many around the college, Johnson long ago figured out that the key to people’s hearts is through their stomachs, a reality well served by his longstanding culinary passions. Beloved for his annual cookouts, faculty and staff meals, and tables filled with free-to-take canned goods (prepared in his home-based commercial kitchen), Johnson’s hands-on leadership has resulted in a college community as well-fed as it is administratively supported.

While many over the years have simply accepted this gastronomical disposition as fact, Johnson’s interest in food preparation traces back to his childhood, when he learned at the foot of an aunt with a colorful personality. “She was a gourmet cook, and I loved her crazy stories. Most of them were fabricated, but they were wonderful stories,” he says with a laugh. “She really knew how to cook, and she started showing me techniques.”

As a teenager, he took on the responsibility of preparing family dinner when his parents worked late. And in time his love of cooking found its way into his professional life, too, in the form of food-centric events that allowed him to show his appreciation for the entire CECH community, one plate at a time. His annual picnic blowout – started in 1999 on the lawn next to the Teachers-Dyer Complex (named the Lawrence J. Johnson Lawn in 2023 in recognition of the dean’s many cookouts) as a full-college celebration – is the likely pinnacle of Johnson’s food journey, a legacy event that fed hundreds of people each year with homemade sides, grilled meats and his award-winning barbecue sauce.

All told, Johnson’s career has produced a lot of food – but, naturally, all this cooking is about more than piled plates. Preparing a meal, providing sustenance to power the hard work, is a basic and essential form of service-based support. For a man whose professional life has been a living expression of service – to students, CECH faculty and staff, UC and the Greater Cincinnati community – cooking is a direct and undeniable expression of appreciation and support.

Johnson understands that his personal and professional passions intersect around a drive to make life better. “Cooking is a metaphor that we’re about helping others here,” he says. “All of the cooking events are a way to demonstrate we’re trying to help other people.”

“I think Larry is the heart and soul of the college. He sets the tone for the work that we all do," says Deb Telfer, PhD, executive director of UC's Systems Development & Improvement Center. "For as long as I’ve known him, that has been about serving others. He’s supportive and I think guided by this really strong commitment to doing the right thing for the right reasons. I will miss him.”

Thirty-four years at UC and 25 as dean of CECH. Thousands of students served by the college and its four schools, and countless community members living better lives because of CECH’s extensive reach. Johnson knows he leaves a substantial legacy behind as he shifts toward retirement, but when asked how he hopes to be remembered, his answer is simple and succinct. “Just that I made a difference,” he says. “I think my biggest strength has been to bring the best out of others. I tried to create an environment where people could thrive.

“It's been a great run.”

Featured image at top: College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services and Information Technology dean Larry Johnson. Photo/provided

Interview materials collected and compiled with assistance from Luke Bisesi.