UNM Psychology Professor Emeritus Peder Johnson remembered
August 23, 2023
UNM Professor Emeritus Dr. Peder Jack Johnson is being remembered as an extraordinary human being.
Johnson died at home on Aug. 11, 2023, at age 87, leaving the earth a better place than he found it, according to his friends and family. Many at UNM attest to that as well.
"A highly-skilled and dedicated cognitive scientist, he remained active in research well after retirement, investigating basic and applied questions related to expertise, knowledge representation, and concept learning. Peder’s compassion, generosity, quick wit, and genuine caring about student success made him an immensely popular professor, mentor, and colleague," UNM Psychology Department Chair Derek Hamilton said.
Johnson was born in Duluth, Minn., on Nov. 7, 1936, as the only child of John Palmer Johnson and Mabel Irwick Johnson.
He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and a Master’s of Science in Child Experimental Psychology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. This was where he discovered his passion for a career in academics.
That took him west to the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he earned a Doctorate in Cognitive Psychology in 1965, and met his future wife, Susan Strand.
After he served a year in the US Air Force, Johnson was recruited to the Department of Psychology at the University of New Mexico in 1966. Albuquerque was where he further built his iconic reputation, research and community for 30 years.
“Peder was part of a core group of young faculty who transformed the Department from a bunch of old-school educators scattered throughout closet-like offices into the vibrant and dynamic department that exists today,” former student Rene Silleroy said. “Peder was a popular professor, a kind and compassionate person with a keen mind and quick wit who laughed often and easily. He required his students to think critically and insisted on research-based teaching and practice.”
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