Bob Johnson grew up on an irrigated farm near Lovelock, Nevada. His hands-on experience with irrigation, 4-H, and Future Farmers of America (FFA) eventually guided him to the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), where he studied agricultural business. He found that experience interesting and drew the attention of faculty, who guided him toward a master’s degree at UNR and then toward a doctorate in natural resources economics at the University of California, Davis. His original plan was to go on to teach at a university.
However, in 1975, marriage and a desire to get out into the real world earning a real salary shunted him away from graduate school and into a job at the Bureau of Reclamation’s regional office in Sacramento. There he worked for about four years as an agricultural economist. And in 1979, he transferred to Reclamation’s regional office in Boulder City, Nevada, where he worked as an economist. At first, he worked on Central Arizona Project planning, and then, in 1981, he was selected as chief for the Economics Branch. In that position the regional office assigned him coordination of the Central Arizona Project regional office planning activities. That was a challenging task for all involved since land acquisition, planning, program development and construction were all proceeding concurrently.
Then, as a major reorganization swept Reclamation in 1988, he was offered the job of chief of the Operations Division, Lower Colorado Region, where he oversaw lands, contracts, water and power operations offices of the region. He returned to the region just as the Central Arizona Project came online. In 1991 Johnson became assistant regional director of the Lower Colorado Region, and then in 1995 he became the regional director. From October 2006 to January 2009, he served as Commissioner of Reclamation. He faithfully served the public for 34-years and was a true public servant who worked steadfastly on behalf of the Colorado River Basin and the United States.
As a tribute to Bob Johnson and his many years of public service and leadership excellence, a group comprised of friends and colleagues has established the Robert W. “Bob” Johnson Memorial Scholarship to honor the memory of this very special University of Nevada, Reno alumnus. To honor Bob’s memory, this scholarship is intended to provide financial support for agriculture students, and to inspire excellence in their academic and future endeavors.
