As a young art major at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Dr. Barbara Johnson once stood before blank canvases waiting for inspiration to strike.
It arrived instead in a computer lab in 1984, glowing in green text on a black screen, where she discovered that lines of code — strings of ones and zeroes — could be as expressive as any brushstroke.
More than four decades later, Johnson — now an associate professor of computer science at Maryville College — is stepping down from the role that has allowed her to share that unexpected revelation with students since 2001. She’ll retire at the end of the 2025-26 academic year, bringing to a close a career that saw her build the College’s Computer Science major from the ground up.
“We didn’t have the Computer Science major initially; we had computer science business and computer science math, but not the full suite of computer science courses,” Johnson says. “It was a big undertaking to make that change. As things have evolved, so have the types of classes we teach. Initially, we didn’t teach any courses about web technology, software methodologies or user interfaces.
Although Johnson originally studied art, nothing about the major inspired her. When a friend suggested a computer programming class in 1984, she enrolled … and fell in love.
“Everything about it just clicked. It was fun, and it was challenging — and I never did any art after that,” she says. “I just got the sense that this was the right field for me, because I really liked this stuff.”
Johnson got into the field after punched cards — the primary format for inputting data, storing programs, and managing processes on early computers — were largely phased out. Learning basic programming languages such as Pascal and Fortran made her an attractive candidate, and after earning a master’s degree at the University of Kentucky, she went to work for a U.S. Department of Defense contractor, Soft Tech Consulting, as a systems programmer.
Meticulous micromanagement by the government, however, proved tedious, so Johnson and her family moved to East Tennessee. She decided to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee, and, as a teaching assistant, she also fell in love with education.
“Academia seemed like the right place for me, and since we were living in Knoxville, I started looking for a small college around here, and I found Maryville College,” she says.
Johnson joined the faculty in 2001 and taught until 2011, stepping away for a decade to focus on her health. She returned to the classroom in 2021. Shortly after her initial arrival, she helped establish the Computer Programming Team, a student organization that she’s coached throughout her time at MC.
“It’s going to be a little bit sad, and of course it’ll be fun,” she says. “I’ve set the bar and helped develop the team, but (faculty in the Division of Mathematics and Computer Science) plan to hire someone to take my place, and that person may want to do things differently. The programming team has remained strong over the years; we’ve always had a minimum of eight students, and a maximum of 12 to 15, all purely voluntary, of course.”
“I have really mixed feelings about it, because I’ve really enjoyed being here,” she says. “The students are such fun, but on the other hand, I’m getting up there in years, and I’ve had quite a few health problems, especially the last few years, so it’s time. I’ll miss the students, for sure, but also my colleagues. We’re all pretty tight.”
That feeling, says Dr. Jeff Bay — professor of statistics and chair of the Division of Mathematics and Computer Science — is mutual. Bay had been teaching for four years when Johnson arrived at Maryville College, and he recognized from the outset that her contributions would significantly change the curriculum.
“When Barbara joined the Maryville College faculty, she brought energy and rigor to our computer science program, which led to the creation of the Computer Science major,” Bay recalls. “That major has drawn many wonderful students, including those who discovered their passion for programming in her classes and participation on the Programming Team, a team that often ‘hits above its weight’ at regional competitions.
“It’s been inspiring to witness Barbara’s perseverance and return to being the dedicated, beloved professor that she had been for so many years,” Bay adds. “While I’ll miss her after she retires, I’m thankful that she’s leaving behind a strong Computer Science program, a program that will carry on her mark.”
After retirement, Johnson plans to move to North Carolina to be closer to a daughter who lives in Durham. (Her other daughter lives in Chattanooga with Johnson’s three grandchildren.) Spending time with family will be at the top of the list, but she’ll be looking for other ways to fill her time as well. She taps her laptop and smiles.
“I’ve enjoyed it. I hope I’ve made a difference,” she adds. “I hope I’ve contributed to computer science education in general, and I hope I’ve graduated students with high standards to go out and do good, ethical work.”
Maryville College is a nationally ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges, located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville. Maryville College offers more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”
Karen Eldridge, Executive Director of Communications: karen.eldridge@maryvillecollege.edu.
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