The board of trustees of Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts, has selected Robert E. Johnson at the educational institution’s sixth president. He will take office on August 15.
“I look forward to engaging with the campus community to create a shared ambition in writing its next chapter in this extraordinary time, and navigating through this global pandemic and social unrest with a sense of humanity and civility,” Dr. Johnson said. “I look forward to working with our community to evolve the paradigm for the higher education industry that steeps our students with a sense of humanity, grounding them in the liberal arts with an entrepreneurial spirit that spurs innovation and transforms the world.”
Western New England University enrolls about 2,750 undergraduate students and slightly more than 1,000 graduate students, according to the latest numbers furnished to the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans are 4 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Since 2017, Dr. Johnson has been the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. From 2010 to 2017, he was president of Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Earlier in his career, Dr. Johnson has served in administrative roles at Sinclair Community College, the University of Dayton, Oakland University, and Central State University.
A native of Detroit, Dr. Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he majored in economics. He holds a master’s degree in education administration from the University of Cincinnati and a doctorate in higher education administration from Touro University International.
