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News

Provost finalist visits UH

A&M dean of liberal arts raised money, cut journalism program

Cougar News Staff

Charles Johnson, who became nationally known in 2003 for his proposal to cut Texas A&M University's journalism program, will meet the UH community today as a candidate for provost.

Johnson, the dean of liberal arts at A&M, is the first of five provost candidates to visit the University this spring. He will discuss his career and field questions from the campus during an open forum this afternoon.

Johnson came under fire in 2003 when he proposed eliminating the journalism department at A&M as part of $20.5 million in budget cuts, citing high enrollment, low faculty numbers and other problems with the program.

At the time, Johnson said many award-winning journalists did not have degrees in journalism and reportedly told journalism professors not to protest the decision.

"Don't try to revive the department, don't go looking up all the former students to undo this -- it's not going to work," one A&M journalism professor quoted Johnson as saying at the July 2003 announcement about the program's future.

The department was officially disbanded in the fall.

Johnson earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Towson State College in Baltimore, his master's in government from the University of Maryland and his doctorate in political science from the University of Kentucky.

He has been at A&M since 1978, serving previously as director of graduate studies and associate head of the Department of Political Science there.

Johnson led that department until 2001, when he became dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, A&M's largest with about 7,000 students.

As dean, Johnson secured millions of dollars in endowments and grants and expanded his college's undergraduate honors program.

He also began initiatives to improve diversity in faculty hiring. More than 25 percent of new hires in the last three years were racial or ethnic minorities, Johnson reported, and 46 percent were women.

The open forum for Johnson will begin at 3:15 p.m. today in the University Hilton's Waldorf-Astoria Room. The entire campus community is invited to attend.
 

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