CSWS is honored to have the paintings of sociologist and CSWS co-founder Miriam M. Johnson (1928–2007), who was known as Mimi by her friends and colleagues, on view throughout our offices in Hendricks Hall. The paintings were donated to the Center after the passing of Mimi’s husband, Ben Johnson, in 2024.

Mimi played a prominent role, along with sociologist Joan Acker (1924–2016), in providing the leadership to establish the Center for the Study of Women in Society. In 1973, both Mimi and Joan met with William Harris in the home of UO President Robert Clark, at which time Harris declared his intention to donate the significant estate of his wife, Jane Grant, to establish a center for research on women. 

For the next thirty-plus years, Mimi continued to be an active CSWS member and contributed generously to the Center. She served three times, across three decades, as acting director for CSWS: in 1974–75, 1986–87, and 1990–91. 

The staff and affiliates of CSWS are indebted to Mimi for her strong advocacy in establishing a UO center focused exclusively on the issues of women and gender in society. Her theoretical and empirical research advanced the knowledge of women and gender as a whole and set a precedent for the field of women’s studies, while her leadership helped establish the bedrock for subsequent generations of women scholars.

To learn more about Mimi’s legacy, go to csws.uoregon.edu/miriam-johnson.