PROVOST EMERITUS Alex F. Johnson, PhD, CCC-SLP Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Alex Johnson serves as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Since his arrival at the Institute in 2008, he has made significant and sustained contributions to our academic portfolio, including the addition of several new degree programs, the expansion of research activity, the enhancement of interprofessional education, and the development of community outreach. He will retire on July 15. The Institute has seen exponential growth under Provost Johnson’s leadership. As the chief academic officer, the student population has grown from just over 800 students to over 1600; the Faculty has doubled to 129; operating revenue has climbed from 19.3 to 70.9 million; and the footprint of the school’s Charlestown Navy Yard campus has expanded from one building to seven, increasing from 65,000 sq feet to 176,000 square feet. The Institute has also significantly expanded its research activities. The portfolio has grown to over $25 million in direct funding and, most importantly, has produced breakthrough research that directly improves clinical practice. One of Provost Johnson’s most significant and transformative contributions to the Institute has been his leadership of our growth initiative, which began in 2019. This initiative is responsible for developing a new School of Healthcare Leadership with two new master’s programs and two new master’s programs in nursing soon to receive state approval, a revitalized Continuing and Professional Development program, and new models for clinical education. This initiative will allow the Institute to grow to over 2,400 students, put us on the path to fiscal solvency, and provide critical support for the MGB system to develop its employees. During the pandemic, Provost Johnson skillfully and compassionately led the Institute’s academic programs through the most challenging time in the history of the academy. Recognizing the complexity of the challenges, he created a structure called CART (Coronavirus Academic Response Team) that could respond quickly to balance public health needs and the continuity of the learning environment. While many academic programs at other colleges and universities struggled through the pandemic, the IHP thrived, graduating most of our students on time and providing new and expanded learning experiences, including telehealth and simulation. Provost Johnson’s ability to innovate in the academic space allowed the Institute to successfully navigate the pandemic and ultimately improve the educational experiences for our students. From 1988 to 2009, Dr. Johnson directed Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Neurology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. He then served as Chair of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Wayne State University from 1999 to 2008. In 2006, Johnson served as President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. In 2013 received the Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in recognition of his distinguished contributions to the profession. Johnson is the co-editor of two textbooks, numerous peer-reviewed articles, and chapters. Johnson has continuing clinical and scholarly interests in medical speech-language pathology and the effects of communication and swallowing impairment on quality of health and life. His interests also include a newer focus on the teaching and scholarly enterprise in higher education and interprofessional education in the health sciences.
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