Pitt Announces $2.5 Million Gift to Support Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership

PITTSBURGH--The University of Pittsburgh received a $2.5 million gift from LaVonne (CAS '76, GSPIA '80) and Glen Johnson to support the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA). The gift will ensure that the mission of the institute will be a priority for GSPIA in perpetuity.

Pitt's Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership promotes ethical leadership and accountability in public life, particularly in government and nonprofit organizations.

"I have known and admired LaVonne and Glen Johnson for many years," said Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. "For them to support a program addressing issues of ethics and accountability is consistent with the values that have characterized their own lives and also reflects their shared belief in the power of higher education. Through the innovative programs of the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership, Pitt will be positioned to help shape the national and international discussion of issues that have attracted so much attention in the early years of the 21st century. We are deeply grateful for the Johnsons' extraordinary generosity."

"With the Johnson Institute, the issue of ethics and accountability is placed as a permanent component of the school's mission," said Carolyn Ban, dean of GSPIA.

Since its creation, the Johnson Institute has been an advocate for creating ethical leaders and providing an institutional platform to launch innovative teaching, academic research, and outreach activities on ethics and accountability for Pitt students, faculty, and the community at large.

"Current issues in government and nonprofit organizations give rise to critical questions of ethical leadership and accountability in public life," said Kevin Kearns, associate professor and director the institute. "The Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership allows GSPIA to further infuse ethical reasoning into all of GSPIA's core courses and to promote cutting-edge academic research in ethical leadership."

Through the Johnson Institute's faculty development program, faculty members learn to integrate the teaching of ethics and accountability into GSPIA courses. Its public outreach program sponsors conferences, workshops, and public meetings on enhancing responsible leadership and ethical practices, and its annual "best paper" award supports groundbreaking research by showcasing papers on issues of ethics, responsible leadership, and accountability in public service from established scholars and students.

This gift to GSPIA is part of the University of Pittsburgh's Discover a World of Possibilities capital campaign, the most successful fundraising campaign in the history of both the University and Southwestern Pennsylvania. To date, the campaign has raised more than $910 million to support the University.

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