Obituaries : Arlien Johnson; Dean of USC’s Social Work School for 20 Years

Arlien Johnson, dean of the USC School of Social Work during a period of great expansion and a nationally recognized leader in social work, is dead at 94, university officials reported Monday.

Ms. Johnson died Thursday at a hospital in Portland, Ore., her native state.

She was dean of the USC School of Social Work from 1939 until her retirement in 1959. During her tenure, USC established an independent professional school for social work study and in 1953 the school became the first in the West to offer a doctorate degree in social work.

Ms. Johnson began her career in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen in 1919, and during the Depression worked for the Seattle Community Fund and the Washington State Emergency Relief Administration.

From 1934 to 1939, she was director of the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Washington.

She was president of the National Conference of Social Work in 1947, and served on several government commissions. In 1952, she was a Los Angeles Times “woman of the year” for her service to the community, which included membership on the Los Angeles Metropolitan Welfare Council and the Welfare Federation of Los Angeles. Two years later she headed the Fulbright Commission’s American Social Work Team in its study of social services in postwar Great Britain.

Ms. Johnson had a master’s degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in social service administration from the University of Chicago.

Surviving is her sister, Mildred Cline of Portland. A memorial service will be held later at USC’s Arlien Johnson Memorial Library, a university spokesman said.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Arlien Johnson Scholarship Fund, USC School of Social Work, Montgomery Ross Fisher Building, Los Angeles 90089.