Release date: May 10, 2005
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark, Assistant Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Former Emory Law School Dean Ben Johnson to Receive Honorary Degree from Emory May 16

Former Emory University School of Law Dean Ben F. Johnson Jr. will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree during Emory's 160th commencement Monday, May 16. Johnson will join four other honorary degree recipients this year: renowned journalist and author Tom Brokaw, who will deliver the keynote address; Atlanta developer Tom Cousins; nursing scholar and alumna Sue Hegyvary; and Oxford University administrator Sir Robin Butler.

Johnson graduated from Emory College in 1936 and the Emory University School of Law in 1940. He then joined the Atlanta firm now known as Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, and later served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He joined the Emory law school faculty in 1946, and served as dean from 1961 to 1972. During his tenure, Johnson introduced programs to ethically engage students in their training, such as protecting the environment and promoting child welfare.

Outside of Emory, Johnson became the founding dean of the Georgia State University School of Law in 1983. During the 1960s, he led the effort to desegregate private universities in Georgia, personally arguing the case in court. Johnson later served as deputy attorney general for the state of Georgia, and was a state senator, during which time he was the principal author of legislation that created MARTA -- the Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority.

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