The Kentucky State University Board of Regents has named Ronald A. Johnson as interim president of Kentucky State University in Frankfort. He took office on July 1.
Historically Black Kentucky State University enrolls just under 2,300 undergraduate students and about 140 graduate students, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 60 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Dr. Johnson served as president of Clark Atlanta University from July 2015 to December 2018. From 2011 to 2015, he was dean of the School of Business at Texas Southern University in Houston. Dr. Johnson is the former president and chief investment officer at Smith Graham & Company where he managed $3 billion in fixed income portfolios for institutional investors. Prior to Smith Graham, Dr. Johnson was the director of global fixed income research and senior portfolio manager for Franklin Templeton. He has held economist positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the International Monetary Fund, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Dr. Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA in finance from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University.
