Each semester, the Hudson River Valley Institute (HRVI) hosts Marist College student interns from a variety of disciplines and areas of study.
In order to expand the resources available to these students, HRVI is seeking support to establish an endowed fund for the purpose of providing enrichment opportunities that enable interns to undertake more impactful experiences and develop more in-depth projects.
Named for HRVI founding Executive Director Colonel (Ret.) James M. Johnson, Ph.D., and his wife Lois S. Johnson, MS, both of whom are lifelong educators and strong advocates of experiential learning, the fund will allow for increased intern access to monetary support for travel, admission and registration fees, production equipment and services, printed materials and more. As HRVI has expanded its available internship opportunities, there has been an increase in potential cost associated with projects. The Johnson Student Research Fund will allow students from a variety of economic backgrounds to have equal access to the enrichment potential that comes from a fully realized internship experience with HRVI.
As an endowed fund, the Johnson Student Research Fund offers supporters the opportunity to contribute to student success at Marist College in a way that will live in perpetuity and make a meaningful impact for students well into the future. Giving is welcome at all levels with the goal of engaging as many HRVI friends, Hudson River Valley Review subscribers, HRVI intern alums, and Hudson River Valley enthusiasts as possible. Contributors who commit at the level of $10,000 and above will be given special recognition on HRVI’s Digital Library and in printed materials for the Johnson Student Research Fund.
Colonel (Ret.) James M. Johnson, Ph.D. is the Dr. Frank T. Bumpus Chair in Hudson River Valley History at Marist College where he taught courses in military and Hudson River Valley history from 2000-2018 and served as founding Executive Director of the Hudson River Valley Institute from 2002-2021. Prior to coming to Marist, he served for thirty years in the U.S. Army, commanding two field artillery batteries in Germany and Korea and teaching for fifteen years in two tours in the Department of History at West Point. In his second tour there, he headed the military history program, rising to the rank of Professor of History. Dr. Johnson has a degree from the United States Military Academy, as well as a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in History from Duke University, and a Masters of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He has served as the Military Historian of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area since 1999.
Lois S. Johnson is a native of Middletown, New York, and a retired speech therapist and classroom educator. Prior to her retirement in 2012, she had lengthy teaching tenures at Orange-Ulster BOCES, in the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District, and at West Point Schools as well as holding positions in Newport, Rhode Island, Fairfax, Virginia, and in Heidelberg and Bamberg, Germany. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and a Master of Science degree from Long Island University.
Together the Johnsons have served the region through their involvement with the Friends of the American Revolution at West Point, Boscobel House and Gardens, and the Constitution Island Association, among many other organizations. They both helped to form the 5th New York Regiment of American Revolution reenactors and have been dedicated advocates for historic preservation throughout the Hudson River Valley, including at their eighteenth-century Blooming Grove, New York home.
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very admirable