Roger Johnson Hon. FBCS

Citation

I was delighted, as the 64th President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, to present Roger Johnson, the 33rd President, with an Honorary Fellowship (HonFBCS) in recognition of his stellar work for the Institute over many decades.

Honorary Fellowships are awarded to individuals who’ve made an outstanding contribution to BCS, over a considerable length of time, helping us meet our charitable objects.

It is pretty impressive (and somewhat daunting) to realise that Roger has given a further 30+ years service since he was president. It should be said that Roger had already served in a variety of roles before his election, including as a Vice-President and Deputy President – that is a phenomenal amount of volunteering in making IT good for society.

Since his presidency ended in 1992, he has also served terms as both Chair and Vice-Chair of the Institute’s Advisory Council.

He was also instrumental in establishing the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), which has impacted so many people in terms of certifying their computer literacy (well over 1M people).

He went on to be President of CEPIS (1997-99) and was heavily involved with the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and the UK Engineering Council at varying times.

More recently, Roger has been very heavily involved with the BCS Computer Conservation Society in preserving our profession’s past.

Roger said in a recent interview that his presidency was built on the shoulders of the giants that had come before him. I can readily say, three decades later, on behalf of the thirty or so intervening presidents, we are extremely grateful to Roger and his forebears.

Thank you, Roger!

It is very fitting that the Institute should make you an Honorary Fellow.

Alastair Revell – BCS President