Julia Elkin
Julia Elkin (MS ’15), 37, of Berkeley, California, died on February 25, 2024, in Redwood City, California, from traumatic brain injury. She was hit by a car while jogging and was hospitalized before succumbing to her injuries. She was an organ donor and was known to have saved at least five lives. A land acquisition program manager at Sonoma Land Trust, Elkin enjoyed traveling, backpacking, sailing and tide pooling. She also was an accomplished amateur artist, classical flautist, folk harpist and singer of sea chanteys. She graduated from SEAS in 2015 with a focus on environmental policy and planning, and was named a Wyss Conservation Scholar in support of her interest in becoming a conservation leader in the U.S. A $200,000 gift from the Wyss Foundation and U-M established the Julia Elkin Conservation Leadership Award in Elkin’s memory. It will enable students to participate in a summer internship focused on U.S. land conservation.
William Johnson
William Johnson, FASLA, 92, died on September 10, 2024, in Holland, Michigan. He graduated with landscape architecture degrees from Michigan State University and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and worked for noted Japanese American landscape architect Hideo Sasaki. In 1961, he formed Johnson, Johnson and Roy Inc. (JJR) with his brother Carl Johnson and their friend Clarence Roy. Under Johnson’s leadership, JJR (now SmithGroup) became one of the most esteemed planning and design firms in the country. The search for fitness, harmony and community involvement became Johnson’s core design philosophy and a trademark of JJR’s work. Johnson blended practice—first at JJR and later at William J. Johnson Associates—with his commitment to education. He taught at SEAS for 30 years from 1958 to 1988, and served as dean of the school from 1975 to 1983. A Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), he was awarded its ASLA Medal.
John “Jack” Milliken
John “Jack” Milliken (BLA ’62, MLA ’63) died on June 8, 2024, at age 90 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. A faculty member at the University of Guelph, Ontario, from 1965 until his retirement in 1993, Milliken was credited with establishing the school’s Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program in 1974. He earned his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and MLA degrees from SEAS in 1962 and 1963, and taught landscape architecture for a short time at the school before joining the University of Guelph. Milliken was inducted into the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects College of Fellows and the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects as an emeritus member.
Michael Schechtman
Michael Schechtman (MS ’74), of Helena, Montana, died at age 77 on August 7, 2024. He became active in the environmental movement after participating in teach-ins at U-M during the first Earth Day celebration in 1970. He became the director of the Ann Arbor Ecology Center in 1971, then co-founded the Illinois South Project to take on the coal industry and mitigate its environmental destruction for the next 10 years. Schechtman later moved to Montana to serve as the executive director of the Northern Rockies Action Group, followed by 22 years as founder and executive director of the Big Sky Institute for the Advancement of Nonprofits in Helena.
Carroll B. Williams Jr.
Carroll B. Williams Jr. (BSF ’55, MF ’57, PhD ’63) died on March 1, 2024, in Berkeley, California. He was 94. A pioneer in environmental sciences, Williams was the first African American to receive a PhD in forestry and entomology from SEAS in 1963, and the first African American scientist hired by the U.S. Forest Service, as well as the forestry faculties at Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley. While attending U-M, Williams’ studies were interrupted by the Korean War. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was a survivor of the battle for Outpost Vegas, one of the bloodiest encounters during the war. He returned to U-M on the G.I. Bill and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forestry in addition to his doctorate. After retiring from the Forest Service, Williams joined the faculty of UC Berkeley, teaching courses in forestry and entomology. In 2021, the Dr. Carroll B. Williams Fund for Black Excellence was established to honor Williams’ legacy at SEAS. In 2024, it was endowed in perpetuity through a gift from Williams’ three children.
To make a gift to the Elkins or Williams funds, email [email protected].
