Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 17, 1990                   TAG: 9004170354
SECTION: B-1 VIRGINIA                    PAGE:    EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

ACTING EXTENSION DIRECTOR TO HEAD SERVICE FULL TIME

Johnson, 52, had been acting director Johnson of the statewide service - which has offices in 107 cities and counties across Virginia - for the past year.

He replaces Mitchell Geasler, who left his post last year after a philosophical disagreement with President James McComas over how Tech's extension division should be organized.

McComas favored reorganizing the division under the agriculture college, a model frequently used by land-grant universities across the nation and one that had been used at Tech until the mid-1960s. Geasler wanted to keep the division an independent unit.

Monday, officials predicted Johnson would be well-received by extension agents statewide and said the reorganized service would be more responsive to the changing needs of Virginia's agricultural sector.

Extension "needs to work on a new relationship within the university and with our colleague agencies in the state," Johnson said. "We will continue to develop the focus for our programs throughout the commonwealth and better communicate what we're doing to help the people of Virginia."

Johnson's appointment and the reorganization of the division under the agriculture college dovetail with McComas' goal to raise the university's profile across the state.

`With the major reduction in our extension budget of $1.5 million, it is critical that we strengthen both our ties and services at the grass-roots level . . . ," McComas said in a statement.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a three-tiered organization, comprised of the U.S. Agriculture Department, Tech and Virginia State University faculty members and local agents across Virginia.

Provost E. Fred Carlisle, who headed the national search for an extension chief, said Johnson "reflects first-hand experience, a very positive attitude and the ability to produce results for an essential mission of the university."

Johnson spent his professional career in Virginia as a local extension agent, district director and statewide administrator. After graduating from Tech in 1961, he joined the extension service and became assistant county agent in Greensville County. A stint in the Army was followed in 1963 by another assignment as assistant county agent, this time in Isle of Wight County.

In 1966, he earned a master's degree from Tech and was named unit chairman in Southhampton County. Four years later, he became district agent for the 17-county northern district.

In 1972, Johnson moved to Blacksburg, where he headed the extension service's emergency preparedness programs and was assistant to the head of field operations.

After finishing his doctorate in 1976, Johnson was named leader of the service's special programs branch. More promotions followed, including the associate directorship in 1987.