Carolyn Johnson, associate professor emeritus of communications, who served more than 38 years at Cal State Fullerton and was one of the department’s first female faculty members, died Nov. 7. She was 76.
Last year, the College of Communications honored her nearly $48,000 in gifts to the University with the June unveiling of the Dr. Carolyn E. Johnson Internship Office. Her gift of $25,000 started the University’s Journalism Endowment Fund, which supports the purchase of travel, materials and equipment for the Communications Department, including backpack kits of photography and video equipment to assist students in journalism classes.
Johnson, known by many of her colleagues as CJ, joined the CSUF faculty in 1972 after teaching English and journalism at a high school in a Washington, D.C., suburb. She retired from CSUF in 2010, but returned to campus for several years to teach part time. She was an active emeritus faculty member and continued to support the college, most recently with her purchase of a table at Concert Under the Stars. She taught writing and reporting to young journalists, was an adviser to the student chapter of Women in Communications, Inc. (WICI) and served in different national WICI positions, including as president.
To honor Johnson with a donation to the Department of Communications, contact Katie McGill, director of development for the College of Communications, at 657-278-8231.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 8 at First Lutheran Church, 215 N. Lemon St., in Fullerton. A luncheon will follow.