Kozak added that Johnson's impressive contributions to the scholarship in his field of agricultural economics have been recognized by Iowa State University in his being named C.F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and by several honorary degrees from other institutions. The vice provost vacancy was created when Robert Anderson resigned to teach in ISU's electrical and computer engineering department. A professor of economics, Johnson has directed the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development since 1985. D.C. Johnson is an academician in the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a lifetime honor that is held by only a few non-Russians. Prior to joining Iowa State, Johnson was an economics professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
All degrees are in agricultural economics.