Romney Institute Names Charles Johnson Administrator of the Year

PROVO, Utah — Apr 13, 2004 — Brigham Young University’s Romney Institute of Public Management named Charles E. Johnson the 2004 Administrator of the Year. Johnson was also recently nominated by President George W. Bush to become the chief financial officer of the Environmental Protection Agency.

“I just want to change a few people’s lives,” Johnson told the audience at a banquet in his honor April 2. “I’m having a new opportunity in Washington D.C. to bring people and their opinions together for the common good.”

Recently, Johnson was president of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and vice president of Huntsman LLC. He also serves as a member of the Utah State Board of Regents. He was chair of the Board of Regents from 1997 through 2002. Johnson graduated from BYU in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy.

The Romney Institute has presented the award annually since 1972. Institute faculty nominate and select an outstanding man or woman who has achieved distinction after many years in public sector management. Past recipients include Calvin Rampton, former Utah governor, Neal Maxwell, former commissioner of education for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and William H. Hansell, executive director of the International City/County Management Association.

“One defining characteristic for every person receiving this award is that they are people of principle, integrity, benevolence and empathy – all those things that we want our students to emulate,” says Gary Cornia, director of the Romney Institute.

The Romney Institute of Public Management was named in 1998 for three-term Michigan Governor George W. Romney. Part of BYU’s Marriott School of Management, the Romney Institute offers a master’s degree in public administration through both pre-service and executive programs. The Romney Institute has a long tradition of preparing young people for careers in public service and is dedicated to educating men and women of faith, character and professional ability who will become outstanding managers and leaders in public and not-for-profit institutions worldwide. Brigham Young University is the largest privately owned church-sponsored university in the United States.