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| Professor emeritus makes planned gift to social work department September 2002
It all began when he picked up a book titled “So You Want to Help People.” Actually, David Johnson, a college student at the time, already had helped many people through his part-time employment at residential facilities for the developmentally disabled and mentally ill. But that book put him on the path to earning his master’s degree and Ph.D. in social work, which in turn led him to a 20-year career at UW-Eau Claire mentoring students and faculty members in his chosen field. Johnson served as chair of UW-Eau Claire’s social work department from the time of its creation in 1976 through 1987. He was instrumental in establishing the department and in the accreditation of its undergraduate social work program. He also wrote the university’s first service-learning course, which at the time was required for all social work majors. The course, which placed student volunteers with area social service agencies, led to the establishment of UW-Eau Claire’s annual Volunteer Services Day and, eventually, a universitywide service-learning graduation requirement. Even now, 14 years after his retirement from UW-Eau Claire, Johnson continues his personal mission to help others. In April, he made a planned gift to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation that eventually will endow a social work faculty position. The bequest in Johnson’s will was a lead gift in the Foundation’s Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence campaign to secure $35 million in private support for the university’s people and programs. “As long as there are personal and social problems, there will be a place for rigorously educated professional social workers in the forefront of efforts to open opportunities for the positive growth of our fellow citizens and to improve the quality of life for all,” Johnson said. He added that he views his gift as a way to help ensure that UW-Eau Claire’s social work faculty can commit to lifelong learning and research. “I can think of no better way of paying back society for its many gifts to me than to support the social work faculty at UW-Eau Claire,” he said. “Dr. Johnson’s gift is most generous and most appreciated by the university and, particularly, members of the department of social work,” said Patricia Christopherson, associate dean of UW-Eau Claire’s School of Human Sciences and Services. “The endowment of a chair will allow further development and quality in a program that is known statewide for its excellent undergraduate degree.”
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