Mildred F. Johnson, retired professor and interim vice president at Cheyney, has died at 89
She helped state education officials and school administrators navigate thorny issues on accreditation, finances, staffing, and enrollment in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Mildred F. Johnson, 89, of Philadelphia, retired interim vice president of finance and administration at Cheyney University, onetime executive director of the YWCA of Philadelphia and the Washington-based National Technical Association, professor of business and secondary education at Cheyney, Temple University, and Community College of Philadelphia, high school teacher, and church leader, died Sunday, Sept. 1, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington.
Born and reared in Virginia, Dr. Johnson and her husband moved to West Oak Lane in 1960 for his job, and she spent the next seven decades as an award-winning leader and innovator in higher education, business administration, and community service. She earned a master’s degree in business administration and doctorate in education at Temple, and worked closely for years with the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan at Zion Baptist Church.
Dr. Johnson was a professor and top official at Cheyney in the tumultuous 1970s and 80s as it underwent several administrative reorganizations. She helped state education officials and college administrators navigate thorny issues on accreditation, finances, staffing, and enrollment, all while teaching business classes and organizing valuable workshops for students and colleagues in the emerging role of computers and data processing.
She described her seminars in a 1981 Daily News article as “a multimedia instructional approach to explain what a computer is, how it works, and how the computer is used to help solve problems not only in business and science but in classrooms and offices.” She also taught business classes at CCP in the 1970s and Temple in the late 1980s.
In 1979, she was on Mayor Frank Rizzo’s short list for appointment to the Philadelphia Board of Education. She was on Mayor Bill Green’s short list in 1981 and ‘82.
Organized, energetic, and collegial, Dr. Johnson served in 1987 and ‘88 as executive director of the YWCA as it worked through years of financial challenges. She focused on centralizing its administrative procedures, and a colleague told the Daily News in 1988 that she was “really dynamite for the organization, and she was really bringing it back.” Dr. Johnson told the Daily News: “I feel I’m a real catalyst for change. Things are happening now.”
She was then introduced to top officials at the National Technical Association, and she worked for a decade as its executive director. From 1990 to 1999, she increased membership and corporate support, and developed mentoring and outreach programs for scientists, engineers, and students.
“Dr. Johnson committed to inspiring and developing leaders in all sectors of her life, her work, family, and church to better serve others,” NTA president Constance Meadors said in a tribute. She “worked hard to bridge the often perceived barrier between religion and science.”
At Zion Baptist on North Broad Street, Dr. Johnson became a trustee and executive director of its learning center. She founded the church’s investment club and youth council, and was founding chair of the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Humanitarian Legacy Awards program.
Eight times she traveled with Sullivan to summits in Africa. “Her faith was her guiding compass,” her family said in a tribute. Her husband, Lonnie, said: “She was good for my heart and soul.”
She was active with the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum, and National Political Congress of Black Women, and she won service and achievement awards from the NTA, National Council of Negro Women, and other groups. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Virginia State University and served as president of its national and Philadelphia alumni associations.
She helped found the Class of 1956 Endowment Scholarship Fund at VSU in 1986 and was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. “Her smile, genuine spirit, kindness, and love for Virginia State University will live on in the memories she leaves with us,” VSU president Makola Abdullah said in a tribute.
Mildred Florence Fitzgerald was born March 27, 1935, in Chatham, Va. She grew up on a 100-acre farm, learned to work hard from her parents, and left Northside High School for college after 11th grade.
She graduated from VSU in 1956 and earned her master’s degree in 1964 and doctorate in 1976 at Temple. She started as a high school teacher in Portsmouth, Va., and practicum supervisor for new teachers at Norfolk State University.
She met Lonnie Johnson at a dance in Virginia, and they married in 1960, moved to Philadelphia, and had daughters Carol, Valerie, and Pamela.She made nearly every stranger she met into a friend, her family said, and hosted international students from around the world at her home for years during the holidays.
Her daughter Carol said she was “a strong woman, a fearless advocate for education, kind and supportive.” Her daughter Valerie said: “She taught me the meaning of unconditional love, strength, and compassion.” Her daughter Pamela said: “She was my rock, my greatest source of strength.”
Her grandson Michael said: “She will forever live in my heart.”
In addition to her husband, daughters, and grandson, Dr. Johnson is survived by three sisters, a brother, and other relatives. A sister and two brothers died earlier.
Services are to be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at Zion Baptist Church, 3600 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19140.
Donations in her name may be made to the VSU Class of 1956 Endowment Scholarship Fund, 1 Hayden Dr., Virginia State University, Va. 23806; and the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, Ill. 60601.