Arlien G. Johnson was born in Portland, Oregon, sister of Mildred A. Cline. She received her bachelor’s degree from Reed College in 1917, an M.A. degree from Columbia University in 1923 and a Ph.D. degree in social service administration from the University of Chicago in 1930. Her experience in social work practice began with service at the Hudson Guild Settlement House in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen in 1919.

She was a national leader in the field of social work and dean emeritus of the School of Social Work, University of Southern California. Her list of publications spanned half a century and included such monographs as Public Policy and Private Charities among others.

Johnson received many honors and awards, including an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Reed College in 1977. The School of Social Work Library at the University of Southern California was named for her in 1972. She received the Los Angeles Times Silver Cup Award to Women of the Year for Outstanding Achievement, 1952.

Arlien Johnson died in Portland, Oregon, on March 24, 1988.

Mildred A. Cline was born January 13, 1910, in Portland, Oregon. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Reed College in 1932, a master’s degree in government from New York University and a graduate degree in library science from the University of Wisconsin.

From 1935 to 1958, she worked as a librarian for the Library Association of Portland, later called Multnomah County Library, and then worked five years at the California State University in Northridge. In 1964 she moved to Salem and worked at the Oregon State Library. She returned to Portland in 1968, to work for the Multnomah County Library until she retired in 1974.

In retirement, Mildred volunteered for the League of Women Voters, gardened and participated in Reed-sponsored events on campus. She and her sister, Arlien Johnson, lived together in later years. Mildred Cline died January 6, 2000, in Portland, Oregon.