Professor Ron Johnston

Professor Ron Johnston (PhD 1967 and honorary LLD 1999) is an eminent geographer and political scientist who has published more than 50 books and over 900 academic journal articles and book chapters on his three research interests: electoral studies, urban social geography, and the history of geography.

Although he retired in 1995, Professor Johnston remains an active researcher and has been recently involved in changing the legislation for the definition of British Parliamentary constituencies as well as analysing voter behaviour and party funding in the UK. Professor Johnston’s productive career has spanned a number of universities including Monash, Canterbury (New Zealand), Sheffield and Essex where he was Vice-Chancellor before retiring.

Professor Johnston has twice been honoured by the Royal Geographical Society (including the Victoria Medal) and by the Association of American Geographers (including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010). In 2011 he was named Political Communicator of the Year by the Political Studies Association and was also awarded the OBE for services to scholarship.

In 1999, Monash awarded Professor Johnston an honorary degree of LLD. The same year he was also elected a Fellow of the British Academy and the Festival Internationale de Géographie awarded him the Prix Vautrin Lud (sometimes referred to as the geographers’ Nobel).

Professor Johnston’s current research post is in the School of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol.