Remembering Bryan Johnston
Bill Long 6/8/08
Brian Johnson, versatile leader in higher education and state government in Oregon, died unexpectedly fewer than 36 hours ago. Already, however, in the media and in private conversations all over Salem, my home town and the town he loved and served so well, people are remembering him. It is so hard to think of him as no longer with us because of Bryan's comparative youth (59), his lively and engaged manner when you were in his presence and the sense that even if you hadn't had a conversation with him in years you just might run into him around the next corner and pick up right where you left off. Bryan was that kind of guy, a person who was intensely engaged both in the lives of the people with whom he worked as well as the issues and problems that these people brought across his desk.
His engagement arose out of a genuine love for people and a sense that if they honestly dealt with each other and with differences between them that some kind of accommodation that would leave both sides stronger would result. Bryan was therefore a rare individual--a mediator who felt that to be 'in the middle' was a position of strength, rather than weakness, and that seeking methods for people to compromise gracefully often resulted in better things than if either side simply achieved what it said it wanted at the outset. Bryan's profound insight into human nature and aspirations, and his genuine love for people, allowed him to work with confidence and skill.
Two Personal Stories
Over the next few weeks we will be sharing stories of Bryan when we meet with each other, but just in case I don't see you, here are my two. One illustrates his humor; one the insightful and quick quality of his mind. During 1997-98 Bryan was interim President of Willamette University. The position was important as the experience of following a long term President (Jerry Hudson, who preceded Lee Pelton as President of Willamette, had served in that post for 17 years) often is unsettling for the full-time successor. Old loyalties die slowly; new ideas are sometimes not welcomed. Yet Bryan paved the way for Lee so that the latter moved into a healthy and well-managed school.
But that isn't the story that I want to tell about Bryan. One day while Interim President ("IP"), he was addressing a public audience. He, who was also a legislator at the time (the Legislature wasn't meeting while he was IP), also had to introduce the Governor, John Kitzhaber. I recall how he "identified" with the Governor. He said, "Governor, you and I are the only Democrats who live on Lincoln Street [the high rent district on Fairmount Hill in Salem], and neither of us owns his own home." It was a fine example of Bryan's self-deprecating humor, humor that, by the way, let you know that he was also very proud of being a Democrat.
The second story is personal to me. During my law school days I decided to try my hand at pursuing a business degree, also. But business school and I just didn't agree with each other. I was looking for a much more historical and theoretical approach to business and the school, for many many good reasons, wanted to train people in rather practical and collaborative tasks. On one occasion a professor was lecturing on the innovations brought to American management through the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor in the early part of the 20th century. The professor commented that it was always best in business to have a plan; to organize what you are going to do; to pull off your plans; to evaluate what you did. He used Taylor as an example of this. I, who rarely accept someone else's presentation without raising questions, decided to probe the professor a bit. I asked him how his approach might be laid beside Abraham Lincoln's experience of leadership, where he said that he felt that he was, rather than calmly deciding which course was best for America, being swept along by forces beyond his control--all the time. I asked the professor how he might comment on Lincoln's words, and he really didn't have much to say. He felt the two comments were compatible.
I wasn't exactly distraught after this encounter, but I did feel that my historical observations weren't taken very seriously. I happened to run into Bryan the next day at the law school. It was also during the 1997-98 school year, so he was Interim President. He inquired how I was doing in school, and I mentioned the unsatisfying encounter with the professor from the day before. Without missing a beat, Bryan said, "So, you were confronting him directly with contrary evidence about how decisions were made, and he didn't respond to your concern. Isn't that what was happening?" I looked at Bryan with relief in my eyes--as if someone existed who knew what I was trying to say. I knew that such a person would not be one to "beat around the bush" when questions were raised or observations made. Bryan was able to get right away to the heart of my statement and sympathetically reflect it back to me.
Conclusion
I hadn't talked to Bryan in a few years, though every time we saw each other we would exchange a vigorous and friendly wave. But now that he is gone, I can't help but think of these two little stories that stay with me about Bryan. He was funny--with a wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humor. He was smart--very smart indeed--at getting to the nub of issues raised. Others can and will remember him in so many wonderful ways, but these two memories make me smile--even if it is through some tears.
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