Dr. Charles and Marlene Johnson are regular visitors to Murray State University. Retired educators and MSU graduates, they are generous and humble supporters of their alma mater. Returning often for university events, they are especially supportive of music at MSU.

In 2006, the Johnsons established the Dr. Charles and Marlene Johnson Outstanding Music Faculty Award at Murray State. The $1,000 award is presented annually during Music Awards Day to a full-time MSU Music Department faculty member with at least six years of service. The award is used for numerous initiatives including professional faculty development, research materials, conference or travel.

Charles and Marlene were also major contributors to the music department’s new carillon. They continue to be generous annual fund donors, and are currently working with the MSU Music Department on other upcoming projects.

Natives of Carrier Mills, Ill., both graduated from Carrier Mills High School and were married in 1954. Charles majored in social studies at Murray State and Marlene transferred to Murray from Southern Illinois University and majored in music education. As a student, Charles was a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and the International Relations Club. Marlene was a member of the Vivace Club and the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. Charles graduated in 1956 and Marlene in 1957.

“At the time we attended Murray, it had already earned the high acclaimed reputation it touts today,” says Charles. “We feel a great sense of pride every time we step foot on this beautiful campus.”

Marlene adds, “We had a wonderful experience at Murray. I am especially delighted to see the addition of the Sigma Alpha Iota girls music fraternity on campus since we were students.”

Both Charles and Marlene are credited with accomplished and fulfilling careers. After graduating from Murray State, both accepted positions at Marshall County Schools, Charles as a teacher and administrator and Marlene a vocal music teacher at North Marshall High School.

Charles would later earn his master’s and doctoral degrees from Michigan State University and Ed. S from Wayne State University in Michigan. Marlene received her master of arts degree in guidance counseling from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

The Johnsons careers would take them to schools across Illinois and Michigan. Charles spent 41 years in public education, 28 of those as a superintendent of large city districts in Michigan and Chicago metro areas.

In 1959 they moved to Clawson, Mich., where Charles accepted a teaching position in the Troy School District. Marlene taught vocal music at Morse Elementary and Troy High School. She would later become the guidance counselor at Boulan Park and Smith middle schools in Troy.

The Johnsons later moved to Rochester, Mich., where Charles was the principal and later the acting assistant superintendent of instruction in the Avondale School District. In 1967 he accepted the position of superintendent with VanDyke Public Schools.

In 1979 Charles accepted the position of superintendent with Downer Grove Area Schools in Illinois. When Marlene’s father passed away, Charles decided to take the job as superintendent with Carrier Mills-Stonefort Schools so he could manage his mother-in-law’s estate and care for his aging mother.

Charles retired as superintendent of Livingston County Schools in Michigan in 1996 and Marlene from Carrier Mills High School as a guidance counselor and English teacher in 1993. The Johnsons have two daughters, Lisa Haston of Michigan and Gina Johnson of Naperville, Ill.

Throughout his distinguished career as a school administrator, Charles received numerous honors, published several professional articles and was always an active member of his community. He served as a delegate for a White House Conference on Children in 1970, and was selected to tour Russia with the American Association of School Administrators in 1973. In 1979 he received the State of Michigan Senate Tribute, recognizing his contributions as a Michigan educator. His professional memberships include the American and Michigan Association of School Administrators and the Association of Teacher Educators.

Marlene’s professional memberships include the National, Illinois and Michigan Education associations. She was named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 1992.

In addition to her outstanding teaching career, Marlene is an accomplished pianist, organist and vocalist. From 1966 to 1976, she served as the organist for the First Baptist Church in Rochester, also serving as choir director in 1971 and 1974. At the St. Paul United Methodist and Christian Scientist churches in Rochester, she was a substitute organist till 1979. She is currently the assistant organist and pianist at the First Baptist Church in Carrier Mills.

“We share a great love, appreciation and lifetime support for the performing arts,” say the Johnsons. “MSU is nationally recognized for its high academic standards-an ivy league style education without ivy league cost. That ideal is unbeatable for students in our four state area as well as nationally. We want that reputation to flourish and endure. ‘As man does not live by bread alone,’ music and the theatre gave us, not only joy and relaxation but another dimension to living and life long learning.”

The Johnson’s are honored to represent Murray State as the 2008 Homecoming Parade Grand Marshals.