Kristina Johnson is stepping down from her position as chancellor of the State University of New York to become the next president of Ohio State University, two sources told the Albany Times Union. | Credit: Courtesy of State University of New York
State University of New York Chancellor Kristina Johnson is stepping down from her position to become Ohio State University’s next president, the Albany Times Union reported Tuesday.
Johnson will assume the role beginning Sept. 1, two sources familiar with the situation told the Times Union. Current University President Michael V. Drake announced his retirement in November.
A spokesperson from Ohio State declined to comment and SUNY did not respond to request for comment by the time of publication. Members of the presidential search’s University Advisory Subcommittee were not willing to comment on the matter at this time.
Johnson steps down after three years in the position — she joined SUNY in 2017 after serving as undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Energy from 2009-10.
The advisory subcommittee held six public forums — four of which were at regional campuses — to solicit feedback from the university community and met with student, faculty and staff subgroups, according to the Board of Trustees website. The subcommittee released a presidential profile in March outlining the qualities, skills and attributes the university community wants to see in Ohio State’s 16th president.
They determined the next university president should be effective and charismatic with higher education experience and should be able coordinate the many resources, organizations and external entities associated with Ohio State.
Johnson is an electrical engineer by trade. She received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University and has 118 U.S. and international patents, including a patent for a camera that can detect pre-cancer cells on cervical smears, the Times Union reported.
Johnson previously served as Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, according to SUNY’s website.
University President Michael V. Drake is scheduled to retire from the university on June 30 and assume the role of president emeritus. If Drake stays with the university for one year, he will become tenured distinguished professor in the Colleges of Medicine and Education and Human Ecology.
Drake’s current salary is $891,946.20.
The Ohio State Board of Trustees approved a contract for Drake that extends through June 2024 that will pay out up to $3.3 million in salary and research funds, access to the Wexner Medical Center Executive Health Program for him and his wife, and a “Platinum A” campus parking pass.
