Obituary for Dr. Mack Johnson
June 8, 2012
Dr. Mack Johnson, Associate Vice
President for Graduate Studies, Research
and International Programs and Professor
of Biology at California State
University, Northridge, passed away on
June 6.
"This is a very difficult and painful
loss for the university and for me
personally,” said Dr. Harry Hellenbrand,
Cal State Northridge’s interim
president. "The university has lost a
dedicated and effective administrator
who advocated for international
relationships and students, graduate
programs and research. His career spans
an era during which the university has
undergone tremendous growth and a
significant rise in its profile. He
changed and moved forward with the
campus without ever forgetting the core
values of service and commitment this
institution were founded on. I speak for
his many friends and colleagues on
campus and the community when I say he
will be greatly missed both
professionally and personally.”
Dr. Johnson, appointed to his position
in 1988 by then-President James Cleary,
was a respected administrator and
advocate for students who wished to
pursue graduate studies. He also was an
internationalist who provided support
and encouragement for international
students, visiting scholars from other
countries and international faculty who
taught at Cal State Northridge. As a
proponent for strong partnerships with
universities and colleges overseas and
international exchange programs, he
helped establish more than 50
cooperative agreements between Cal State
Northridge and overseas institutions. He
was responsible for overseeing nearly 60
master’s degree programs and one
educational doctorate and a doctorate in
physical therapy that had more than
6,000 post baccalaureate and graduate
students enrolled. He also was
responsible for the management of
research projects and grants totaling
more than $26 million.
Dr. Johnson arrived at Cal State
Northridge with an extensive background
in teaching, research and academic
administration. His research interest
and publications focused on autoimmune
diseases and immunopathologic mechanisms
involved in diseases caused by
infectious agents. He conducted his
teaching and research in the U.S. and
overseas, including at the
world-renowned International Laboratory
for Research on Animal Diseases in Kenya
and the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine
in the Sudan and Kenya. He has also
given lectures at CSUN’s sister
universities in China.
He received a baccalaureate degree in
Biology from the University of Virginia,
a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree
from Tuskegee University and a Ph.D. in
Veterinary and Comparative Pathology
from Washington State University. He
served as a National Institutes of
Health Postdoctoral Fellow while
pursuing his Ph.D. degree. He held
faculty positions at Tuskegee
University, University of California,
Davis and Washington State prior to
arriving at Cal State Northridge. He
spent a year as an American Council on
Education Fellow in Academic
Administration prior to entering higher
education administration. At the time of
his appointment at CSUN, he was
Associate Vice Provost of the Graduate
School at Washington State University
and on the graduate faculty of the
College of Veterinary Medicine. Other
administrative appointments include
associate dean and project development
officer for the Graduate School at
Washington State.
Dr. Johnson is survived by his wife,
Gail, and two adult children, Traci and
Christopher. Funeral arrangements and a
campus memorial for Dr. Johnson are
being planned and will be announced at a
later date.
In lieu of flowers gifts can be made to
the CSUN Foundation in Dr. Johnson’s
memory to support the Mack I. Johnson
"Graduate Student Research Awards."
CSUN remembers the life of graduate
studies leader, Mack Johnson
