Leon H. Johnson

Leon H. Johnson (March 6, 1908 – June 18, 1969) was an American chemist and mathematician who served as President of Montana State University from 1964 to 1969.

[1] Johnson won an appointment as an assistant professor of chemistry and a research biochemist at what was then known as Montana State College (MSC) on September 1, 1943.

This nonprofit organization, newly established by Renne, was incorporated to allow the college to accept federal and private research grants.

Renne demurred, noting that he'd been granted leave through early 1964 and to abandon his government position would show a lack of good faith.

[5][7] Deeply committed to the college's research function, he pushed for MSC to be named a university—a change Renne had advocated since the early 1950s, and which the Montana state legislature approved on July 1, 1965.

[10] Johnson quickly worked to end the acrimonious relationship with the University of Montana, and the two schools began to present a united front to the state legislature.

[3] He was committed to continuing Renne's educational plan, but declined to spend money on new buildings (preferring to consolidate and renovate rather than expand).

Students themselves accepted these restrictions, which included dress codes, older adult chaperones at dances, a ban on alcohol, and mandatory military training for freshmen and sophomores.

[18] (The stadium funding issue would pass in December 1969 after the university made repeated assurances it would build a fitness center first.

)[19] Johnson had a severe heart attack on October 22, 1968, shortly after delivering his "State of the University" address to the student body.

[7] During this period, William Johnstone, a professor of education and Vice President for Administration at MSU, handled most of the governance matters concerning the university.

[1] In 1971, Montana State University named its new $3.75 million Life Science Building "Leon Johnson Hall" in his honor.

[1] In 2011, three historians who wrote a history of MSU were asked to name Montana State University's most important presidents.

Pierce Mullen, Robert Rydell, and Jeffrey Safford named Johnson one of the four top presidents in the university's history.