2021 Gumbo final - Book - Page 97
Johnson, along with Ceppos and former journalism professor James E. “Jay” Shelledy, helped to create the Manship
School’s Statehouse Bureau, which allows undergraduates to report on the Louisiana Legislature and have their work
published in news outlets across Louisiana each spring.
Ceppos praised Johnson’s qualifications in a 2018 Reveille article.
“The Manship School educates both future professional communicators and scholars who study at the intersection of
media and public affairs. Martin has a deep understanding of both of those sets of students,” Ceppos said in an email.
“After all, he was editor of the Reveille as an undergraduate at LSU —and his area of scholarly interest happens, by happy
coincidence, to be media and politics.”
Ceppos’ words about Johnson proved true. Students remember him as someone who was always accessible and eager to
discuss their problems and find a solution. In the words of mass communication graduate student James Smith, he “made
the Manship School feel like a family.”
Mass communication professor Christopher Drew said Johnson was the clear candidate during the dean search process,
which involved multiple qualified candidates from some of the best journalism schools in the country.
“For him to be part of the school as a student, have grown up here, gone off, learned other things and come back made
him the perfect person,” Drew said.
Drew heard the news of Johnson’s passing in a Zoom class Tuesday morning. He had emailed Johnson at 9:40 p.m. the
night before.
“Some of the students were crying, they just appreciated him so much,” Drew said. “We ended up ending the class early.”
Drew, who now teaches Statehouse Bureau, said he turned to Johnson every time the group needed something.
“He recognized the best ideas often bubble up from down below,” Drew said. “He wasn’t the kind of person going around
telling everyone what to do. He was encouraging everybody to come up with ideas in their field...it didn’t matter if it cost
money, he viewed it as his job to figure out how to get us to do what we wanted to do.”
Mass communication senior Justin Franklin remembers his frequent meetings with Johnson.
“Sometimes you have to wait weeks, hours or days to get with people, but not Dean Johnson,” Franklin said. “I thought,
‘how is he meeting with everybody all the time?’ But that’s just the guy he was. He would make time for everybody.”
Students, faculty, friends and family of Dean Johnson gathered at a vigil held on the Journalism Building’s terrace on
Thursday.
Student Government, Manship Ambassadors and members of the LSU community combined efforts to plan the service and
honor Johnson’s memory.
Political communication senior Carrie Cole took part in setting up and planning the vigil.
“Everybody wanted to do something for Dean Johnson because he was just so great that it didn’t feel right not doing
anything,” Cole said. “He was such a universally revered dean.”
Upon arrival, guests wrote condolences, blanketed the stairs with flowers and lit candles in remembrance of Johnson.
Cole had fond memories of Johnson when she took his class in last spring. Amid the looming quarantine and ever-present
uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, Cole said he was “the calm in the storm.”
“We’ll miss his presence, how positive he was, how inviting he was and how much he cared for his students,” Cole said
Prior to the event, students and faculty of the Manship School created videos honoring Johnson. At the vigil, visitors
gathered to watch the accumulated condolences and memories.
Yongick Jeong, associate dean of graduate studies and an associate professor of creative advertising, reflected upon
strong ties between Johnson and the professors and faculty of the Manship School.
“I decided to work for him because I believed he could make big changes,” Jeong said. “He was just a great person.”
To comply with LSU’s safety guidelines, visitors reserved times to attend the vigil, and only 45 people were allowed on the
terrace at a time.
Digital advertising junior Lauren Leonard said she was proud of how the community gathered in his memory.
“I think it’s really great that we haven’t seen each other in so long, and it’s almost like the dean brought us together after a
time of being apart,” Leonard said.
Leonard said that when she attended a Dinner with the Dean event, Johnson’s welcoming presence surpassed her
previous expectations of a dean.
“He was so kind,” Leonard said. “Over time, I realized that was just his personality. He was so approachable...which I think
is unexpected.”
Jeong said the tragic loss of the dean has left many upset and recognized the impact Johnson’s presence had on the
Manship community.
“He is special to me, he is special to us, and we were special to him,” Jeong said.
Page by: Gabe Henderson
Story by: Anna Jones and
Marykelly Munster