Professor emeritus David Johnson of the Department of Economics died Tuesday, Aug. 17, after a long battle with cancer.Johnson retired from the University in May 2000 after a distinguished 33-year career in education and research.”He was a very popular teacher,” said Robert Newman, chairman of the Department of Economics.Johnson’s research spanned many fields, including political analysis and evaluation, public decision making, energy economics and public finance. His former colleagues highly regard his long teaching career, which began at the University in 1967.”He was a remarkable man,” said Bill Campbell, professor emeritus and long-time colleague of Johnson. “[He] was characterized as a man who loved to pursue truth above all.”Johnson’s ambition and lack of guile led him to great places, Campbell said.In 1975, Johnson became the director of the Division of Business Research, a position he held for a decade.In the early ’80s, Johnson served on several energy policy committees at the U.S. Treasury.He founded the Masters of Public Administration program at LSU in 1984 and was the first director of the Public Administration Institute.”He was instrumental in getting the MBA program at LSU,” said James Richardson, current director of the Public Administration Institute. “He was a very, very bright man. He was innovative and creative.”Johnson’s time at the University was marked by various achievements, such as his involvement in bringing attention to the economic and engineering impacts of the Atchafalaya capturing the Mississippi River, which was largely reported on by the New York Times, NBC’s Today Show and many other national newspapers, Newman said.After his retirement, Johnson traveled the world and revised his books on public choice and data. His funeral was held Aug. 20 at St. Barnabas Catholic Church in Arden, N.C. 
 
 
 
—–Contact Julian Tate at [email protected]