Tonjanita L. Johnson has been appointed president of the Universities of Wisconsin. She will begin her new role in January, overseeing the system’s 13 public universities that serve some 164,500 students.
Since 2019, Dr. Johnson has been senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the University of Alabama System. She previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at the University of Tennessee System, chief deputy to the president at Stony Brook University in New York, and associate vice president for marketing and communications at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Johnson has also held various executive roles at Mississippi Valley State University.
“I am deeply honored by the confidence the board of regents has placed in me and excited about the opportunity to serve the people of Wisconsin,” said Dr. Johnson. “Public higher education has the power to improve lives, strengthen communities, and shape a state’s future. I look forward to working with our chancellors, faculty, staff, students, elected leaders, and partners across Wisconsin to ensure that our universities remain engines of opportunity, innovation, and economic vitality. My goal is to help our remarkable UW universities become even stronger, more connected, and more consequential to the future of Wisconsin.”
Dr. Johnson earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication from the University of Alabama and a doctorate in urban higher education from Jackson State University in Mississippi.