Modest, kind, generous, approachable — those are just a few of the words used to describe Manship Dean Martin Johnson.
Johnson, 50, died of a heart attack in his sleep the night of Sept. 28. His death was confirmed by Associate Dean Josh Grimm in a staff email.
“There is so much to say, but words escape me right now,” Grimm said in the email. “I’ll just say this: He was an incredible person, father and a friend and confidant to so many of us. This is a loss we will feel forever.”
Since his appointment as dean of the Manship School two years ago, students and faculty alike said he made himself available and demonstrated genuine interest in their lives. Mass communications professor Will Mari said Johnson was an “in-the-trenches, hands-on leader who put others first.”
“As the person who offered me the chance to work at a research university and who believed in my potential, Dr. Johnson will always be someone I seek to emulate and be like,” Mari said.
Mass communications senior Justin Franklin said Johnson served as a resource and a mentor for all the extracurricular activities within Manship, whether it was finding the funds for Franklin’s study abroad trip, helping advance Mock Trial or revamping LSU’s National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). Franklin said NABJ, which was formerly known as the Association of Black Communicators, had fallen into “a season of nothing” before Johnson came along. Franklin was preparing for a meeting between Johnson and NABJ when he learned the news of his passing.
“He was so committed to the vision that we had for the club and he was so committed to seeing Black students comfortable, seeing Black students excel, and seeing Black students have a place in the Manship School,” Franklin said.
Political science and mass communications professor Nathan Kalmoe said when Johnson was a Reveille editor in the ‘90s, he partnered with Southern University to produce a joint weekly issue because he valued greater collaboration between the schools.
“Local white business owners threatened to pull their ads from the Reveille because they didn’t want newspaper integration, but Martin didn’t back down,” Kalmoe said.
Kalmoe said Johnson was a generous and caring mentor and friend, always encouraging and patient, with a good sense of humor. He said he was doing great things for the Manship School and beyond with his leadership.
“I hope we can somehow realize his vision without him to guide us,” Kalmoe said. “We owe that to him. I will miss him terribly.”
When mass communications junior Kayla Hamilton heard the news of Johnson’s passing, she contributed to a makeshift memorial on the front steps of the journalism building complete with flowers and a letter.
“As soon as I heard the news I had to do something,” Hamilton said. “I just wanted to show some gratitude.”
Johnson was the first Manship administrator Hamilton encountered when she came to campus for a freshman admittance event. She still remembers his inspirational words and how they solidified her decision to come to LSU.
“Dean Johnson, thank you for the change, impact and knowledge you’ve given Manship,” Hamilton’s note read. “You have touched each student and faculty and will never be forgotten. Rest easy, you’ll be missed.”
Mass communications professor Roxanne Dill said Johnson was invested in his students’ and faculties’ success, which was made evident through the time he spent holding frequent office hours and listening to concerns.
“He was the dean; he was in charge,” Dill said. “But he used his position to serve the people around him. We should all learn from that important legacy he leaves us at the Manship school.”
LSU alumnus Joshua Jackson credits Johnson with his achievements in the communication field.
“Without Martin, I [wouldn’t] have my current job or my master’s degree from the Manship School,” Jackson said. “I owe him basically the last four years of my life.”
Jackson said the thing that inspired him most about Johnson was his commitment to people.
“Even as dean, he would have things that were far more important to do, but I’d see him checking on the faculty and staff,” Jackson said. “I’d catch him talking to students in the [Holiday] Forum. He’d email me just to check in and if I had an idea, we’d talk about how to make it happen.”
Mass communications graduate student James Smith said Johnson always remembered his students.
“This isn’t very common in a school as large as LSU,” Smith said. “He cared, genuinely. He exemplified the values that make the Manship School more than a school. He made it clear that we’re a family.”
Franklin said when he thinks of Johnson, a Martin Luther King Jr. quote comes to mind: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
“I’ll say for Dean Johnson, he made everybody’s challenges and trials his own,” Franklin said. “It was never, ‘What can you do for me?’ It was always, ‘How can Manship help? What can Manship do? What can I do?’
“This wouldn’t hurt this bad if he wasn’t such a good person,” Franklin said. “This wouldn’t hurt so bad if he wasn’t the kind man of wisdom that he was, and it came as such a shock. It will take time for healing ,and it will take time to fill the hole that’s been left.”

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Courtesy of the Manship School

Dean Martin Johnson