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91���� alumnus and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Christopher Michael “Mike” Johnson, MAIS ’11, was recently appointed University of West Georgia’s ninth president. He stepped into his new role on August 1. 

Johnson’s selection followed a national search led by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, which named him the sole finalist in May before appointing him in June. 

“It’s always a bit of a transition period having a new president come to a university with new goals and visions, but the north star will always be our students. Student success is our no-excuse priority,” said Johnson. 

This role is the culmination of Johnson’s 20+ year career in higher education. In addition to his work at George Mason, where he started a program that became the university’s , Johnson has held leadership roles at Purdue and Northern Virginia Community College. Most recently he served as chief of staff at the University of Houston System and the University of Houston, where he also earned a PhD in higher education leadership and policy studies.  

George Mason was Johnson’s first job after transitioning out of the military. 

“There was a wave of veterans like myself starting to come back to college campuses. The Office of Military Services allowed me one foot into the military space and one foot in the higher education space,” said Johnson.  

“Although it was a transition period, I was still able to engage with a body of people that I felt comfortable around while helping them navigate their college experience. I feel honored to be a part of that growth of the university towards supporting veterans,” he said. 

Johnson, a first-generation college graduate, accomplished a lot as a student and an administrator during his time on the Fairfax Campus, and he said his perspective as a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps has influenced his leadership style and approach to service and resilience. 

While he and his wife, Beth, MA Strategic Communication ’12, raised their family, they also took classes while working full-time at George Mason. While Mike was advocating for veterans, Beth worked as a communications manager for the university’s fund-raising efforts in the office now called the .  

“Beth and I pursued grad school at the same time. We had a small child and had to move in with her parents, but I think that work-life balance was certainly made easier by George Mason,” said Johnson. “Because the university had one of the best education benefits for its employees, they basically took away all of the reasons for me to say ‘I don’t have time.’” 

Recently the College of Humanities and Social Sciences recognized Johnson for his dedication to student success, institutional advancement, and strategic leadership with the 2025 MAIS Distinguished Alumni Award.

“I can’t think of a greater honor than to come back to my alma mater and be recognized for the excellent work that I’ve been doing. The College of Humanities and Social Science provided a critical base of knowledge for me to draw upon as I was pursuing my PhD work,” he said. “And even today, I think those lessons learned have served me well in my current role. 

“I don't think I truly appreciated my time at George Mason fully until I stepped into this role,” Johnson said. “And I find myself from time to time reflecting on those experiences with my leadership team and the lessons that I observed as the university was maturing and have brought those experiences here to the University of West Georgia.”  

Reporting by Jerome Boettcher contributed to this article.