Jim and Elaine Johnson

Honorary Life Members

2022

James B. Johnson, Jr. and Elaine M. Johnson established The Ann Johnson Institute (AJI) for Science, Technology and Society at the University of South Carolina, in honor of their late daughter, Ann. The AJI was established in 2017 and is dedicated to building diverse communities for the study of technology, medicine and science in past and present societies.

James is a 1954 graduate of Vanderbilt as well as a 1959 University of Pennsylvania Wharton School MBA graduate. Elaine is a 1959 graduate of San Jose State University and did graduate study in library science at Kean University. After several years of active duty in the Navy, James worked in New York for more than thirty years at J.P. Morgan & Co. Elaine was a librarian at Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey. After their respective retirements in 1993, the Johnsons moved to Statesboro, GA, where they currently reside. Their older daughter, Ann, taught history and philosophy at USC for a number of years before her death in 2016. Their younger daughter, Katherine Lewandowski, is a professor of geology at Eastern Illinois University. The Johnsons, along with Katherine, worked with former Dean Lacy Ford of USC’s College of Arts and Sciences to establish The Ann Johnson Institute (AJI) for the Study of Science, History and Society. Today, The AJI aims to fund interdisciplinary communities for research and pedagogy, as well as serve as a place “where members of the academic community, students, and those outside the University feel welcome, valued and at ease.”