CHSS Distinguished Alumni - MAIS

Christopher Johnson was named president of the University of West Georgia, effective August 1, 2025. As president, he leads a comprehensive regional public university founded in 1906, serving more than 14,000 students across locations in Carrollton, Newnan, and Douglasville, and offering over 100 undergraduate and graduate academic programs. 

With more than two decades of service in higher education, Johnson most recently served as chief of staff at both the University of Houston (UH) and the University of Houston System. In that role, he provided strategic leadership and served as the principal advisor to the UH president and system chancellor. Prior to his tenure at UH, he held leadership roles in advancement, enrollment management, and student affairs at Purdue University, George Mason University, and Northern Virginia Community College. 

Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the Citadel, a master’s degree in higher education from George Mason, and a PhD in higher education leadership and policy from the University of Houston.  

Beyond his degrees, Johnson has pursued professional development at the Institute for Leadership and Governance in Higher Education at the Association of Governing Boards, the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University, and the Millennium Leadership Initiative at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. In 2021, he was awarded the McInnes/Ryan Award for mid-Career Higher Education Leadership by the American Association of University Administrators. From 2023-24, he was the chairman of the board of directors for the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education, where he had served since 2018.