James Roland Johnsen
14th President of the University of Alaska system
In office
July 28, 2015 – July 1, 2020
Preceded byPatrick K. Gamble
Succeeded byPat Pitney
Personal details
Alma mater
Salary$325,000[1]

James Roland Johnsen is an American academic and businessman. He has served in several public and private sector roles during his career, most notably as the 14th president of the University of Alaska system from July 2015 until July 2020.[1][2]

Education

His education includes a BA in politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, master's in political science from the University of Chicago, and an EdD in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.[3][4]

Career

Early career

Prior to joining the university, Johnsen held executive leadership positions in the private sector with Alaska Communications and with Doyon, Limited, and in higher education at the University of Minnesota and the University of Alaska between 1992-2008 in executive roles including director of labor relations, vice president of administration and chief of staff. He was also a visiting scholar at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley in 2002.[5]

President of University of Alaska system

Johnsen meeting with Senator Lisa Murkowski in 2020.

Johnsen was appointed the president of the University of Alaska system on July 28, 2015.[1] As the system president, his priorities included a systemwide Title IX compliance effort,[6] remedying UA's historic land grant deficit, restructuring of academic programs and administrative services of the university to increase student success and reduce cost,[7][8] aligning with Alaska's primary and secondary education sectors,[9] and a systemwide push to achieve the State of Alaska's goal for 65 percent of Alaska's working age population to have a post-secondary degree or certificate of value by 2025.[10]

University of Alaska System budget cuts

Johnsen assumed the role of president during a period of budget cuts following the state of Alaska’s loss of income from collapsed oil revenues. [11][12][13] In March 2016, Johnsen said university system would have to continue to cut back significantly.[12] At the same time, Johnsen made a public case for supporting Alaska's higher education system, extolling the virtues of education and the role the university can play in bolstering the state's economy.[12][14]

In July 2019, Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy announced he was using his line-item veto powers to cut the University of Alaska System’s state funding by $130 million, or 41% of its total budget.[15][16] The cuts were widely condemned, including by Johnsen, University of Alaska trustees, and public officials from across the political spectrum.[17] The outcry led to hearings being held by the Alaska State Legislature about a possible veto override; Johnsen was the first person to testify in these hearings.[16] Johnsen led a negotiation effort on behalf of the university with Dunleavy,[17] which ultimately resulted in the governor and the Board of Regents agreeing in August 2019 to cut $70 million of the university system’s budget – about half the size of the original cuts the governor had planned to make.[18]

Votes of No Confidence

The financial situation and Johnsen’s proposed “Strategic Pathways” plan to facilitate budget cuts caused friction within the university system and led to a “non-binding vote of faculty sentiment” of no confidence being passed 28-9 by the Faculty Senate at the University of Alaska-Anchorage in January 2017.[19] The following month the Faculty Senate of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks also passed a resolution of no-confidence related to the “Strategic Pathways” plan, by a vote of 26-12.[20] Later that year, Johnsen, in response to direction from the Board of Regents, proposed creating a single university, combining the system’s three separate universities, as a way of mitigating the budget cuts. After opposition by the three university chancellors, the University of Alaska’s Board of Regents voted to keep the system in place. Johnsen later said he acted too hastily because he was still operating in “crisis mode.” [21]

Candidacy for University of Wisconsin System President

In May 2020, Johnsen was announced as the sole finalist for the job of University of Wisconsin System President.[22] The announcement was met with concerns among university system faculty and students over the way that the search had been conducted.[23] Johnsen withdrew his name from consideration for the University of Wisconsin System job in June 2020 because of the controversy..[24]

Resignation

Johnsen tendered his resignation amid blowback from the Wisconsin job search, among other reasons.[25] Johnsen's resignation was accepted by the University of Alaska Board of Regents on June 22, 2020. He continued to be the president until July 1, 2020.[2]

Public Service

Johnsen is a commissioner on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, a commissioner on the Denali Commission[26] and a member of the board of directors of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation.[27] He is past chair of the Alaska EPSCoR, chair of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, vice-chair of the Alaska Student Loan Corporation, vice-chair of the University of Alaska Foundation, and member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of System Heads.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Edge, Josh (29 July 2015). "Jim Johnsen named new University of Alaska president". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 Brooks, James (22 June 2020). "University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen will resign July 1". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  3. ↑ Johnsen, James R (2006). Leadership in context: A case study of presidential effectiveness in a state university system (EdD). University of Pennsylvania/ProQuest. 174. OCLC 174127060. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Biography of James R. Johnsen, Ed.D." (PDF) (Press release). University of Alaska. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "Visiting Scholars Listing: Center for Studies in Higher Education". cshe.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  6. ↑ Rivera, Daniella (June 26, 2019). "'People have been hurt': UA President Jim Johnsen discusses efforts to address Title IX complaints". www.ktva.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  7. ↑ Jensen, Andrew (6 April 2016). "UA president has big ideas to manage smaller budgets".
  8. ↑ Granger, Erin. "UA president plans for post-cuts future".
  9. ↑ "Support the University of Alaska". 2017-04-13.
  10. ↑ "Alaska CAN! - Alaska CAN!". 65by2025.org.
  11. ↑ Brown, Emma (14 January 2015). "In Alaska and other energy states, low oil prices put pressure on public schools". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 Johnson, Kirk (15 March 2016). "Alaskaʼs Schools Face Cuts at Every Level Over Oil Collapse". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Kirk (15 July 2016). "Alaskans Brace for Spending Cuts as Oil Prices Tumble". New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Q&A with Jim Johnsen, President, University of Alaska - Alaska Business Monthly - May 2017 - Anchorage, AK". www.akbizmag.com.
  15. ↑ Mudde, Cas (6 July 2019). "Alaska's governor is trying to destroy its universities. The state may never recover". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  16. 1 2 Hohenstatt, Ben (9 July 2019). "Even 'right-leaning' groups, bankers and builders are calling for an override". Peninsula Clarion. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  17. 1 2 Baker, Mike (7 July 2019). "Blindsided by a 'Devastating' Veto, Alaska's University System Pleads for a Lifeline". Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  18. ↑ McGroarty, Erin (13 August 2019). "Dunleavy, University of Alaska reach funding agreement". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  19. ↑ Hanlon, Tegan (13 January 2017). "UAA faculty votes no confidence in University of Alaska president". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  20. ↑ Hanlon, Tegan (6 February 2017). "UAF faculty joins UAA's in voting no confidence in university president". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  21. ↑ Mangan, Katherine (10 October 2019). "U. of Alaska President Acknowledges Contributing to a 'Fractured' System". Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  22. ↑ Hanlon, Tegan (2 June 2020). "As the University of Alaska grapples with budget cuts, its leader may leave". Alaska Public Radio. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  23. ↑ Shastri, Devi (20 January 2022). "Professors surprised, disappointed by lack of public interviews for two finalists to lead UW System". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  24. ↑ Hanlon, Tegan; Herz, Nathaniel (22 June 2020). "University of Alaska president resigns amid blowback from Wisconsin job search". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  25. ↑ Hanlon, Tegan; Herz, Nathaniel (22 June 2020). "University of Alaska president resigns amid blowback from Wisconsin job search". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  26. ↑ "Meet the Commissioners – Denali Commission". www.denali.gov. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  27. ↑ "Dr. Jim Johnsen: Alaska Aerospace". www.akaerospace.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
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