Stephen Philip Johnson, vice president for government and community relations emeritus, whose genial approach helped legislators and other officials better understand Cornell’s educational mission and its land-grant roles in creating economic and social opportunity, died Sept. 30 in Syracuse. He was 78.

Johnson, who worked for Cornell for 42 years, traveled frequently between Ithaca and Albany, New York City and Washington to help to secure millions of dollars in funding to benefit Cornell and its students – and, at one point, to improve immigration law.

“Steve Johnson was an extraordinarily professional leader in the complex world of public policy and community relations,” said President Emeritus David J. Skorton, who promoted Johnson to vice president in 2006, a position he held until his retirement in 2014. “His strong belief in the mission of higher education – the special place of Cornell University in that mission – and the welfare of all in New York was evident in his every action.”

“Steve Johnson, over the course of his more than four decades at Cornell, was the consummate Cornellian,” said Joel M. Malina, vice president for university relations. “His commitment to the university and steady stewardship of many critical relationships at the federal, state and local levels enabled Cornell’s mission to flourish across all corners of New York state, the nation and the world. He was a valued mentor to me and to so many others, and I will miss him tremendously.” 

Johnson was born on Oct. 26, 1945, in DuBois, Pennsylvania, and graduated from DuBois Area Senior High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University (DuBois) in 1967 and a master’s degree from Syracuse University in 1969.

In 1972, Johnson began working at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Wayne County, New York, developing nutrition and pesticide safety education programs for migrant workers and their families. In 1984, he began working in government relations, where he engaged politicians unfamiliar with Cornell’s unique qualities, particularly its land-grant mission.

Credit: Cornell University File Photo

Over his long career, Johnson helped secure federal or state funding for major initiatives such as the reimagination of Stocking Hall, the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory, and other capital facilities on the Ithaca campus and in Geneva, New York.

In 1999, under the direction of Henrik N. Dullea, then-vice president for university relations, Johnson established Cornell’s federal relations office in Washington, D.C., at the foot of Capitol Hill, something uncommon among New York universities at the time.

Johnson helped to secure a permanent exemption for higher education in federal immigration law to permit the employment of outstanding scholars under the H-1B visa program – a law which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.

Professionally, Johnson was instrumental in organizing and establishing the Council on Federal Relations at the American Association of Universities and the Council on Government Affairs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

He was the recipient of the SUNY Award for Excellence in Higher Education; the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Betty Colden Memorial Award; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Penn State University, DuBois.

Beyond campus, Johnson served as a board member for the Tompkins County Area Development; Excell Partners Inc., Rochester, New York, a regional economic development partnership focused on upstate New York; Tompkins County Day Care and Development Council; the Lansing Village Zoning Board, and the National Consumer Voice, an advocacy group for long-term health care.

Johnson was a member of Ithaca Rotary, served on the Tompkins County Public Library Advisory Council and he volunteered as an ombudsman for the Tompkins County Office for the Aging’s program advocating for nursing home residents. 

Johnson is survived by his wife, Lorraine Johnson ’66, and sons Chris Johnson ‘96 and Marc Johnson ‘01, MPA ‘04, and three grandchildren.

In Johnson’s memory, gifts may be made to: Penn State DuBois or the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences undergraduate scholarships or the Maxwell School for Public Affairs and Citizenship at Syracuse University.

A celebration of his life is being planned.