For over fifty years, the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) has prepared students to excel in positions of public service and leadership. A significant component of its mission has been to produce professionals who adhere to the highest standards of ethics and public accountability. That tradition continues today through the research of GSPIA faculty members and students. Together, these scholars, as well as other University of Pittsburgh faculty members, comprise a critical mass of expertise, giving GSPIA a strong comparative advantage in framing and studying problems of ethics and accountability in all contexts - local, regional, national, and international.

A grant in 2000 from LaVonne and Glen Johnson was used to design a successful lecture series and two conferences. Then, in the fall of 2003, the Johnson's renewed their support, allowing us to create the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership. The Johnson Institute reaffirms GSPIA's commitment to creating ethical leaders and provides an institutional platform from which to launch innovative and timely activities that will enhance the GSPIA student body, faculty and community at large surrounding issues of ethics and accountability in all areas of public life.