Carol R. Johnson (honoris causa)
Statement: Carol R. Johnson is a pioneer in the field of landscape architecture. Carol has taught and inspired a generation of landscape architects. She founded her own firm in 1959 at a time when there were few women landscape architects and the profession was still not well established. She spent six decades transforming urban spaces, campuses, industrial sites, and waterfronts into celebrated parks and public spaces. She has been a role model for many, especially younger women and minorities in the profession. Her exacting standards for excellence in design has inspired those who have had the honor to work with her.
Her impact extends beyond that of her projects, as Carol has been active in all aspects of the design community as a volunteer, teacher, and trusted advisor. She has lectured at schools across the United States and abroad, has served on juries and design review boards, and has been the recipient of honorary degrees from the Boston Architectural College, the Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Gettysburg College. Her projects have taken her around the world, and she has worked and studied under some of the most prominent architects.
Carol continued to follow three guiding principles in her work: protect the natural environment, give identity to place, and provide for community. She has been an advocate for public projects and enhancing the public’s experience through landscape architecture, and she has instilled these principles into her firm and more than four generations of landscape architects.
—IBI Group, March 13, 2019