Obituary of Norman B. Johnston

Dr. Norman Johnston, 91, considered by many to be the foremost international expert on the history of prison architecture, died while at the Artman Lutheran Home in Ambler on October 06, 2012 of complications from a series of strokes. Dr. Johnston was the author or editor of eight books and numerous articles on criminal justice and on prison architecture, both in the United States and abroad, and he appeared in several television documentaries focusing on those subjects. Dr. Johnston researched the history of punishment, imprisonment, and the evolution of prison architecture worldwide. These interests led to his long time association and board service with the Pennsylvania Prison Society and the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, the latter of which he was instrumental in developing. Born in Marion, MI in 1921, Dr. Johnston was the only child of Henry Dean Johnston and Lila Madison. He did his undergraduate work at Central Michigan College, receiving the B.A. (summa cum laude) in absentia, as he had enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943 before the official college commencement. After World War II, he entered graduate school at the University of Chicago and completed his M.A. with honors. Dr. Johnston began his professional career working in a state prison in Illinois for three years, and then entered the Ph.D program in sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was given an assistantship and began teaching in 1952. He completed the Ph.D in 1958 and his dissertation was published as The Human Cage. Dr. Johnston subsequently studied abroad on a Fulbright Award. In 1962 he was hired at Beaver College (now Arcadia University) as an Associate Professor and Chairman of the Sociology Department where he spent his Academic career. He was considered an outstanding teacher/scholar, and was dearly loved by many students for whom he was a teacher, as well as a mentor, and a friend. Soon promoted to full professor, he continued to teach full time until 1992, after which, as Professor Emeritus, he taught part time while pursuing his scholarly work for another two decades. In his later years, he became a beloved figure on campus and appeared to be much like a "Mr. Chips" at the University A memorial celebration for Dr. Johnston will be held on November 18, 2012 at 12:00 noon in the Castle at Arcadia University, Glenside PA, 19038. Dr. Johnston is survived by his cousins from Michigan, and the family has asked that contributions be made to Arcadia University, University Advancement, 450 S. Easton Road, Glenside, PA 19038 for a memorial in both his honor and his memory.