By Michelle Wilson
Feature & Entertainment Editor
A group of students smile and wave as Joel Johnson drives his golf cart. “Hi Chief” they say, as he passes to deliver an injured student on crutches to class on time.
Chief Joel Johnson is well known on campus. He can be seen patrolling on his golf cart, handing out parking tickets or talking to students in the student center.
Johnson is currently serving as chief of police on Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Alva Campus. His job includes administration, management, patrol and investigation duties.
He was hired as assistant chief in August of 2016 and got promoted to chief in November of the same year.
Johnson said the worst part of his job would have to be the paperwork. He explained that the administration part of his job is important, just not his favorite. He would rather be out on campus paroling and investigating.
One of the memorable cases that happened after Johnson was promoted to chief was a clown prank on campus. Clown pranks were everywhere starting August of 2016, and two showed up on campus on Halloween of that year. The campus clowns would hide in the bushes to jump out and scare female students as they walked by.
Johnson recalls several groups of students, armed with everything from golf clubs and baseball bats, actively sought out the clowns. So, then the campus police had to worry about the well-being of the clowns and the students. They had to get everyone calmed down and back to their respective dorms before anything happened.
“Right before we got everyone settled down, I got a report of someone riding a tiny bicycle across campus with a bow and arrow,” Johnson said.
The two individuals behind the prank were apprehended and dealt with before anyone got hurt.
Johnson said most of the students on the Alva campus call him Chief, and for him, it is a term of endearment and a nickname, not just a job title.
“What I admire most about Chief is that he sticks to what he believes in, no matter what others say,” said Katie Blair, a student campus security officer.
“I admire how honest he is and how much us, as a campus and as students mean to him.”
Johnson described his school of thought about his job as “the Ward Cleaver school of campus or community policing.” He explained that Ward Cleaver was the father in the TV series “Leave it to Beaver,” that aired from 1957 to 1963. In the show, the father was known for being firm and fair, but he was always there. That is what Johnson said he tries to be.
“I feel called to encouragement,” Johnson said, “and every day I try to look for an opportunity to encourage a kid who I think might be struggling with that, and my very favorite part of my job is at the very end of the day when I can look back and see that I have encouraged at least one kid.”
Johnson defines courage not as the lack of fear but as the resolve, the will and the capability to do the right thing when someone is afraid to do the right thing.
He said when people encourage someone, they instill in them that resolve, will and capability. So, when people discourage someone or when they are discouraged, they are separated from the resolve, will and capability to do the right thing, and they are afraid to do the right thing
Yosbelli Lora an administrative assistant and campus safety officer said she really admires how patient Chief is because he is much more patient and understanding then she would be in his situation.
“When I wake up every morning, I cannot wait to come to work because I love my job,” Johnson said. “And when I get off at the end of the day, I cannot wait to go hang out with Barb. So, the secret to my success is that I love my job, and I like my wife.”
Johnson has been married to his wife, Barbra, for 25 years. The Johnsons’ have adopted a family of four in Pakistan who they support financially.
They stay connected to each other by texting and calling on Skype.
He had been in law enforcement for 14 years before he married Barbra Johnson.
Johnson started his career in law enforcement in 1979, after graduating from the Norman Police Academy. In 1981 he transferred from the patrol division to the Youth Bureau then onto the Investigations Division where he served as a detective and specialized in crimes against children.
He was recruited to develop training and technical assistance programs for Children’s Rights of America in Florida. He served as CRA’s director of the Department of Crimes Against Children in Florida and Georgia and as director of Children’s Rights of America’s National Youth Crisis Hotline.
Johnson also co-developed training programs for the organization.
Johnson returned to work on the Luther Oklahoma Police Department in October of 1986 to June 1988 while he continued his work with Children’s Rights of America from a branch office in Oklahoma. He then he returned to Florida to resume full-time duties as director of the Department of Crimes Against Children within Children’s Rights of America. Johnson played many key roles within the organization.
Johnson has several extracurricular activities and interests including writing poetry and books, playing the clarinet and dabbling in deltiology.
He has two published anthologies that contain over a hundred poems.
“Notes to Adams Song…and Other Gems for the Soul” and “Tributes.” He is working on a third one titled “Misunderstood: A Poetic Tribute to Kitty Cats, Doggies, and Other Misunderstood Critters.”
Johnson is currently writing a full book called ‘The Notes of Adam’s Song.’
The book is structured toward Surviving Parents, which are any parents who have lost a child. It will include some of his poems as well.
The book is in honor of his son Adam who passed away almost 10 years ago. Johnson has continued to write the book throughout the last nine years, so readers can see the way he has coped with the pain over the years.
Johnson can also be heard playing his clarinet at local events. He started playing when he was young. He is still playing on the same Selmer Series 9 horn that his dad bought him when he was 12.
He is also a veteran “busker” (street musician) of four years. He was a street performer who played his clarinet on busy street corners for tips.
“I have played at Carnegie Hall – just not in it yet,” Johnson said, “I played about 10 feet from the door with a sign that said, ‘working my way inside’.”
Junior and drum major Jacob Steckbeck took a busking seminar that Johnson hosted last spring. Steckbeck said Johnson taught students how to entertain a crowd and how to adapt to the environment when playing music on the street.
Johnson is also into deltiology, the study and collecting of postcards. He even used to operate a side business called “Back in Time Postcards.” He has gone to auctions, antique malls, flea markets and conventions to buy and sell postcards.
“I admire his dedication to not only his job but the students that he serves,” said Duncan Brown, a student and former campus safety officer.
Johnson said the biggest lesson he has learned about everything that happened in his life is that one can plan on things but sometimes stuff just happens
“If you want to make God chuckle,” Johnson said. “Tell him your plans,”