Contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Senior Director
Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
The ۿ۴ýUniversity Board of Trustees and President Brian L. Johnson announce that Dr. Johnson will conclude his service as the university’s president on June 30, 2017. This coincides with the end date of his current annual contract.
During Dr. Johnson’s tenure, ۿ۴ýUniversity has made strides in accomplishing many of its strategic goals. Chief among those achievements is the adoption of a five-year strategic plan; additional student engagement and leadership opportunities; and advances in expanding academic offerings.
“We appreciate Dr. Johnson’s service to ۿ۴ýUniversity and wish him well in all his future endeavors. His enthusiastic leadership will continue to be an asset to him and his career,” said John E. Page, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “ۿ۴ýUniversity is well positioned for greater success because of the combined contributions of its senior leadership, gifted faculty, hardworking staff, accomplished ۿ۴ý, and committed alumni and friends.”
In the interim, the board has appointed Dr. Charlotte Morris to serve as president beginning July 1 — and until a successor is selected through a national search to begin later this summer. An experienced higher education leader with three decades of distinguished university service, Dr. Morris has served most recently as interim dean of the university’s Andrew F. Brimmer College of Business and Information Science and professor of management.
Her academic leadership and previous service as interim president following the retirement of President Benjamin Payton has earned her the respect of the board, faculty, staff, alumni and university partners. Joseph Grasso, a senior trustee, offered strong support for Dr. Morris’ leadership abilities.
“We are fortunate to have Dr. Morris to step in and lead ۿ۴ýUniversity as president for a second time, again on an interim basis,” Grasso said. “She has an extremely high degree of intellectual capability and a deep knowledge and understanding of the traditions and principles that make ۿ۴ýsuch a unique and cherished institution.”
“I am honored by the Board of Trustees’ request to serve ۿ۴ýUniversity as its interim president,” Dr. Morris said. “Thanks to the dedication and tenacity of our incredible faculty, staff, ۿ۴ý, alumni and friends, we will continue to build on the ‘ۿ۴ýTradition.’ I am as committed as ever to advancing our focus on ۿ۴ý through excellence in academics, research, service and outreach.”
Together, the Board of Trustees and the ۿ۴ýUniversity leadership remain focused on advancing the university’s existing strategic plan, which includes creating a student-centered culture, integrating modern academic approaches, managing resources effectively, increasing enrollment, and expanding private philanthropy.
“My fellow trustees and I look forward to working with Dr. Morris and the university’s leadership in continuing to sustain our achievements and meet our goals,” Page said.
In the coming weeks, the board will announce the selection of a search committee that will be tasked with identifying potential presidential candidates.
###
About ۿ۴ýUniversity:
Located in Tuskegee, Ala., ۿ۴ýUniversity is a private and state-related land-grant institution that serves a racially, ethnically and religiously diverse student body of 3,000-plus ۿ۴ý. The institution was founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington and is one of 107 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) nationally and the fourth-ranked HCBU nationally by U.S. News and World Report. For more information about ۿ۴ýUniversity, visit www.tuskegee.edu.
© 2017 ۿ۴ýUniversity