[3] Johnstone was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and earned degrees in Economics[1][2] and Education[2] at Harvard University.
[1][4] Johnstone resigned as Chancellor in 1994 after experiencing pancreatic cancer,[5] and later, returned to education at University at Buffalo.
[2] As SUNY Chancellor, Johnstone oversaw the largest and most comprehensive university system in the United States.
[2] Johnstone commissioned an influential support to spur lawmakers to enable the SUNY System to adapt to the changing needs of New York State, specifically, the need to educate older and more ethnically diverse students and to supply the State healthcare system with an ample supply of healthcare workers.
[1][8] The Project examines the worldwide responsibility change in higher education costs from taxpayers and governments to students and their parents.
[1] Following 2007, Johnstone has been an Erasmus Mundus lecturer at the Universities of Tampere, Finland and Oslo, Norway, speaking on topics in higher education administration.