Johnson, B. Lamar (Byron Lamar), 1904-

Biographical note

Byron Lamar Johnson was born in Peterson, Iowa, on June 28, 1904. He received his B.S. in 1925, M.A. in 1927, and Ph.D. in 1930 from the University of Minnesota in Education and English. Johnson held a number of positions in education early in his career, serving as an English instructor at Minnesota College from 1925 to 1927, as principal of a high school in Buffalo, Minnesota from 1927 to 1928, as assistant-principal of the University of Minnesota High School from 1928 to 1930 and as an assistant professor at New Jersey State Teachers College at Montclair from 1930 to 1931.

From 1931 to 1952, Johnson served as Dean of Instruction and Librarian at Stephens College, a two-year women's college in Missouri. While at Stephens, Johnson successfully combined library instruction with teaching practices to form a single unified instruction program. This work, along with publications authored by Johnson, brought him national recognition as an expert on college programming and curriculum. During his time at Stephens College, Johnson also taught as a visiting professor at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

From 1952 to 1972, Johnson served as Professor of Higher Education at UCLA, where he specialized in the study of community and junior college education. During his tenure at UCLA, Johnson was a regular consultant to the California Master Plan for Higher Education Survey Team in helping develop and implement the state's community colleges. Johnson also founded and served as the Executive Director of the League for Innovation in the Community College from 1968 to 1972, as well as the Director of the UCLA Junior College Leadership Program from 1960 to 1972. Johnson was also a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grantee from 1960 to 1972, as well as a Danforth grantee from 1967 to 1972.

During his career, Johnson also studied and developed international education programs. In 1959, he traveled as an American Specialist for the United States Department of State to assignments in New Zealand, the Philippines, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and South America. After leaving UCLA, Johnson worked as a consultant from 1973 to 1974 for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), traveling to Vietnam, Colombia and throughout South America. Finally, in 1976, Johnson worked in Iran on a joint program between UCLA and the University for Teacher Education in Tehran.

In 1977, Johnson was appointed Distinguished Professor of Education at Pepperdine University, where he taught until his retirement in 1983. He married in 1928, and had three children. B. Lamar Johnson died on October 25, 1995.

From the guide to the B. Lamar Johnson papers, 1930-1989, 1952-1983, (Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.)