Born on May 7th, 1957, in St. Louis, Missouri, Kristina M. Johnson has become the 16th President of the Ohio State University since June 2020. Not only did she serve as the President there, but she also served as the 13th Chancellor during her lifetime at the State University of New York (SUNY) from September 2017 till June 2020, after which she became the President replacing Michael V. Drake.
Kristina M. Johnson has also been a leader in the development of optoelectronic processing systems and color management systems as well. In 2007, Johnson was appointed as the Senior Vive President and Provost of John Hopkins University. In 2009, she was appointed by President Barack Obama as an Under Secretary of Energy which was for Energy and Environment at the US Department of Energy.
She also worked as the CEO of many science and technology companies which were founded by her.
Johnson’s Academic and Personal Life
Dr. Johnson, as her name suggests, is a Ph.D. holder. She has completed her higher studies of Bachelor’s of Science (BS), Master’s of Science (MS), and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
She has also completed her high school at Thomas Jefferson High School, and not only was she good at school, but she also won the Denver City and Colorado State science fair competition.
She secured the first position in the competition, after which her project was entitled by the Air Force at the International Science Fair as “Holographic Study of the Sporangiophore Phycomyces.”
Besides being good in her academic field, Dr. Johnson was equally good in athletics as she belonged from an athletic family background.
Her Personal Life:
Dr. Kristina M. Johnson is married to Veronica Meinhard, who is a native of Caracas, Venezuela. She is a four-time All-American swimmer from the University of Florida.
She is equally good in the field of education as Johnson having experience 26years in higher education, philanthropy, and administration.
Meindhard had served as a senior philanthropy and policy advisor at the State University of New York (SUNY). She also served as a leader at the University of Florida and the University of Maryland.
Why Did Kristina M. Johnson Resign?
Kristina M. Johnson, who is the 16th President of the Ohio State University, became the second shortest serving tenure of any University President. Kristina, in one of her interviews, stated that she was very proud of the academic achievements that were accomplished during her tenure at the University.
She also states that her decision to resign was difficult, but she had announced it beforehand to give her enough time to find the next President of the University.
It is said that an outside firm had conducted an investigation against Johnson to review her performance which has been done in the past years as well. But the members of the University knew that before the board meeting could be held in November, Johnson would resign, although her annual review of the year was not completed.
Actual Reasons Behind Her Resignation?
Well, it is stated that Johnson was assigned to serve a period of 5 years contract in the University in which she had served for less than 3 years and decided to resign.
It is said that Johnson was actually said to announce her resignation on Tuesday after she had received a letter of request from the University’s Board of Trustees as they stated Johnson having allegedly continuous relations with many of the board members there.
Not only was this the reason it is also said that during Johnson’s tenure, she had also dismissed two high-ranking University officials, which was her sole decision without any good on behalf of the University.
Academic Achievements During Her Tenure:
She took attention to the achievements that were received during her tenure in one of her interviews by stating that
“by focusing on the five pillars of excellence – academic, research, clinical care and service, talent and culture, and operations- together Johnson and Meinhard have made amazing headway in just two and a half years.”
She also said she had ranked up Ohio State University’s ranking by starting a program in debt-free undergraduate education in which the University had crossed more than $1 billion of the research, which was spent in the threshold for the first time in 2021 during her contract of serving.
Dr. Johnson also opened up in one of her interviews, saying that “she and Veronica were very much thankful and welcomed by the University and the community around,” and she also continues saying she had been surrounded by amazing staff members and students of the University, the parents, the Board of Trustees, supporters and all of Buckeye Nation.
