Johnson, Roberta Ann 1942-

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Johnson, Roberta Ann 1942-

PERSONAL:

Born November, 1942, in Brooklyn, NY. Education: Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, graduated (magna cum laude), 1963; Harvard University, M.A., 1967, Ph.D., 1972. Hobbies and other interests: Competitive swimming (with Temescal Aquatic Masters), mountain climbing (including ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro, 1972).

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Politics, University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton St., San Francisco, CA 94117-1080.

CAREER:

University of Missouri at Kansas City, assistant professor of politics, 1972-74; San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, lecturer in political science and coordinator of women studies, 1975-79; University of California, Santa Cruz, visiting professor of politics, 1979-81; U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC, affiliate of Office for Civil Rights, 1980-85; University of San Francisco, San Francisco, professor of politics, 1985—. University of Indonesia, Fulbright professor, 1992. Ethics in the Public Sector, member of executive board, 1996-98.

MEMBER:

American Political Science Association, American Society for Public Administration, Western Political Science Association, Phi Beta Kappa, American Civil Liberties Union.

WRITINGS:

Puerto Rico: Commonwealth or Colony?, Praeger Publishers (New York, NY), 1980.

Whistleblowing: When It Works—and Why, Lynne Rienner Publishers (Boulder, CO), 2003.

(Editor and contributor) The Struggle against Corruption: A Comparative Study, Palgrave Macmillan (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to books on American society and politics. Contributor to journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Roberta Ann Johnson told CA: "My political science research in framed to engage controversial topics related to justice and equality. In the process, I work to clarify and illuminate many of the difficult issues stimulating public discussion. I have been interested in the status and future of Puerto Ricans and Puerto Rico, politics and American minorities, women, the disabled, the fairness and effectiveness of affirmative-action, talk-show radio, African-Americans and homelessness, the impact of the Internet on political campaigns, the phenomenon of whistle-blowing in the United States, and the nature of an individual's response to corruption.

"As a graduate student at Harvard University, I was formally trained only in American politics. However, my thesis advisor, James Q. Wilson, supported my decision to write my dissertation on the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico and the failure of independence for the island. Thus began my lifetime adventure with research. My initial research topic was technically more expansive than my formal training had prepared me for, but it set a pattern for me. During my decades as an academic, I have been unafraid to change directions, to learn new fields, and to engage in non-esoteric topics popular in public discourse. This, of course, makes me attractive to journalists and media reporters who seek expert opinions and who might need an academic context to help understand current and important issues.

"A revised version of my work on Puerto Rico was published by Praeger. Then in the early 1990s I found myself becoming increasingly interested in how someone in an organization navigates what to do when he or she encounters agency wrongdoing. The question was, how do you balance career, agency loyalty, and the desire to be ethical and protect the public when there is insider wrongdoing? I have systematically taught about organizations in my public administration courses; I also sent student interns to work in public agencies each semester. Building upon these experiences, I directed my research toward whistle-blowing and agency corruption. I wrote papers for academic association meetings like the American Political Science Association and Law and Society. I also began to attend international ethics conferences. I became recognized for my work and was invited to join the international board of Ethics in the Public Sector and to organize daylong workshops at international conference meetings. My network was broad, and it gave me a context for understanding how unique the American whistle-blowing experience was. I raised my expectations and deepened my understanding, and I wrote Whistleblowing: When It Works—and Why.

"It was my hope that I could share my insights with an audience wider than just the academy. I wanted the ideas in the book to have an impact. My timing could not have been more perfect. About the same time the book was published, Time magazine named three whistle-blowers as their 'persons of the year.' My work had an additional advantage. The topic was now even more familiar to a wider audience.

"The next step in my research plan was to develop an edited book on comparative whistle-blowing. It would have represented a logical next step for a specialist on the subject. I was, however, encouraged by colleagues to produce an even more ambitious book, The Struggle against Corruption: A Comparative Study. I personally prepared three chapters, and three other chapters were written by other scholars. The book represented an extraordinary challenge. It was the first scholarly treatment of corruption, not as a regional study, but as a systematic comparative study of vastly different countries. The Struggle against Corruption compares the United States, Israel, Russia, and India. I am hoping the book will make a significant contribution to political science, public policy, and public administration. But its real success, I think, will be measured by whether it adds to the larger community's conversation about corruption."