Jeanne Roach Johnson

 

Jeanne Roach Johnson has served her alma mater and her community with dedication and distinction. She earned her B.B.A. degree from SMU in 1954. As a private investor in Dallas, she realized the need for young women to be better equipped for success in the business world. She established the Johnson Women in Business Scholarship for women with proven leadership skills to pursue an M.B.A. in Cox School of Business at SMU.

Johnson’s love of music, particularly piano, inspired her support benefiting SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. She provided funds for new concert-quality pianos for student practice and performance and established a special initiatives fund for the Meadows piano program. A later gift allowed renovation of the music practice rooms. The Jeanne Johnson Piano Guest Artists Endowment Fund gives SMU students opportunities to learn from national and international piano artists, who perform and teach on a visiting basis. The annual Jeanne Roach Johnson Piano Recital showcases outstanding students and alumni of SMU’s piano program. Johnson has served on the Executive Board of Meadows School of the Arts and currently serves on SMU’s Second Century Campaign Committee for the Meadows School.

Beyond her involvement in SMU, Johnson has provided leadership to Dallas arts organizations and other community programs. She has served as an advisory governor of the Dallas Symphony, a director of the Dallas Symphony Foundation and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, Inc., an elder at Highland Park Presbyterian Church and on the Board of Distinguished Advisors of the Dallas Arboretum.