Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D.
President, Becker College, Worcester, MA
Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D., is an experienced and energetic leader
who, since taking the role as tenth president of Becker College in
July 2010, has raised the college’s institutional profile and
challenged the college community to educate students who can
compete in a global society.
Located in Central Massachusetts, Becker College currently
enrolls 1,750 students at its campuses in Worcester and
Leicester. For two years in a row, as ranked by The Princeton
Review, Becker is among the top 10 colleges in the U.S. and
Canada for video game design. It is one of only two private
colleges in New England to offer undergraduate programs in
Animal Sciences, and its nursing programs are among the top 20 producers of nurses in Massachusetts.
In April 2011, Becker was designated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as home of the
Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI), a statewide center facilitating cooperation and
innovation among the digital games industry, the public sector, and academia. MassDiGI will help
position Massachusetts as a global leader in the digital games industry by 2020—resulting in job growth,
economic development, and entrepreneurship.
Through his leadership and collaboration with faculty, staff, students, and community leaders, Dr.
Johnson has advanced an agenda of strategic priorities for Becker, aimed at inspiring innovative,
entrepreneurial initiatives that augment the college’s rich history and delivering a transformational
educational experience to every student. By instilling within the Becker College experience the three
pillars of global citizenship: academic excellence, social responsibility, and creative expression, he has
challenged students to not only become global citizens, but to rise to the top of their chosen careers.
Passionate about access to higher education, Dr. Johnson has dedicated his more than 25-year career to
transforming the lives of young people and helping them to pursue their dreams. Prior to becoming
Becker College’s president, he served as the senior vice president of Sinclair Community College, in
Dayton, Ohio; the vice president of enrollment management at the University of Dayton (Ohio); the vice
provost at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan; and the executive director of enrollment
management at Central State University, in Wilberforce, Ohio. At each of these colleges and universities,
he developed strategies and initiatives that built enrollment, articulated a compelling brand, increased
resources, expanded access for under-served populations, and positioned the institutions for the future.
A powerful speaker and an effective fundraiser, skilled in strategic management, Dr. Johnson believes in
the power of transformational leadership, possibility thinking, and building partnerships and
collaborations. An involved community leader throughout his career, he has served on dozens of
nonprofit boards, and has presented to corporations, organizations and colleges on the topics of
leadership, strategic marketing and planning, personal brand, diversity, higher education, and
volunteerism. Since arriving at Becker College, he has joined the board of directors of local organizations
including Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Worcester Educational Collaborative, Worcester Regional
Chamber of Commerce, and Worcester Regional Research Bureau. In March 2011, the Governor of the
Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D.
Page Two
Commonwealth of Massachusetts appointed him to the board of the Massachusetts Technology
Collaborative, an organization that promotes technology-sector growth through partnerships among
industry, academia, and state government.
Dr. Johnson is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from
Touro University International, a master’s degree in Education Administration from University of
Cincinnati, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Morehouse College. He is married to Michelle
Jones-Johnson; they have two children, Jasmine and Alex.
June 22, 2011