Stephen Philip Johnson

On September 30, 2024, Stephen Philip Johnson, 78, died after a short illness.

He was retired from his position as Vice-President for Government and Community Relations Emeritus at Cornell University where he worked for 42 years. Previously, he was director of Cornell Cooperative Extension Migrant Education Program and was a History and Government teacher in the Syracuse City schools.

During his years as vice president, he led the strategy and operations of Government and Community Relations, with offices on the Ithaca and Weill Cornell Medical College campuses, in Albany and in Washington, D.C., directing the university's legislative efforts and coordinating its involvement with government-focused higher education associations and worked on behalf of such regional economic development initiatives as the SouthernTier Regional Economic Development Council.

He advanced revisions in immigration law to permit the employment of outstanding scientists and scholars under the H-1B visa program, including securing permanent exemption for higher education. He organized the first joint federal lobbying day for New York medical colleges. He also established the university's federal relations office in Washington, D.C., in 1999.

For many years, he served as an informal mentor to underrepresented Cornell students interested in public policy, introducing them to Washington lobbying efforts and helping them develop various student programs.

Throughout his career he was a passionate advocate for access to higher education and with his staff, was responsible for securing millions of dollars in state and federal funds to benefit Cornell and its students.

According to former Cornell University President David Skorton, “He advocated for effective legislative action to help support the educational, research, health care and public engagement missions of Cornell and others in higher education and, in so doing, has had an enormously positive effect on us all."

Prior to serving in government relations, he was a program coordinator and extension associate for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 1972-84. He helped secure federal or state funding for such initiatives as Cornell's Food Science pilot plant, the Cornell University Center for Advanced Computing, the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory, other capital facilities on the Ithaca and Geneva campuses, and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. He also helped establish the first interstate nutrition education program and pesticide safety education program for Cornell Cooperative Extension's program for migrant farm workers and their families.

Stephen was born in DuBois Pennsylvania, graduated form Penn State University and received his Master’s degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He received the SUNY Award for Excellence in Higher Education, The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Betty Colden Memorial Award  and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Penn State University, DuBois.

He has served on the board of the Tompkins County Day Care and Development Council, the Lansing Village Zoning Board and for the past ten years has been a volunteer ombudsman for the Tompkins County Office for the Aging’s program advocating for nursing home residents. He has been a member of the Ithaca Rotary and has served as a board member for the National Consumer Voice. He was a member of the board of Tompkins County Area Development; Excell Partners Inc., a regional economic development partnership focused on upstate New York; and the Tompkins County Public Library Advisory Council.

He was a dedicated fan of the Buffalo Bills, Penn State football, and politics. A voracious consumer of news in all its forms, he also enjoyed biographies of political figures, traveling and most of all, spending time with his family.

He is survived by his wife, Lorraine, a 1966 graduate of Cornell;  sons Chris '96 and Marc '01, MPA ’04 (Heather McPheron) also graduates of Cornell, and three grandchildren.

A celebration of his life will be held at the convenience of the family

Gifts in his memory may be made to:

Penn State DuBois: https://dubois.psu.edu/Give-Now

Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences undergraduate scholarship https://cals.cornell.edu/support-cals

The Maxwell School for Public Affairs and Citizenship:  maxgiving@syr.edu