Ron Johnson Received the Joseph Mayo Pettit Distinguished Service Award on February 21, 2019. This is the highest honor presented by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association.
Before he joined the ISyE faculty, Johnson was the National Basketball Association's (NBA) first senior vice president for referee operations from July 2008 - July 2012. Prior to the NBA, Johnson served as the deputy commanding general and deputy chief of engineers, the second highest-ranking senior engineer staff officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He retired as a major general in April 2008 after 32 years of military service.
Johnson's awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit (with four Oak Leaf Clusters), and the Combat Action Badge. As well as many professional awards.
Johnson is the former secretary and board member of Goodwill Industries, International. He is a National Trustee of the Boys and Girls Club of America, serves on the National Workforce Solutions Advisory Board, and is a former trustee for both the Georgia Tech Foundation and Georgia Tech Alumni Association. He has also given back in the form of two scholarships endowed in his name at Georgia Tech, and has a room named for him in Tech's Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.