Oklahoma State System of Higher Education Chancellor Glen D. Johnson was recently elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO). The Executive Committee is responsible for shaping SHEEO’s federal priorities and strategies and for leading its communications with Congress, the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies.
“Chancellor Johnson’s depth and breadth of experience at the campus, state and national levels make him an excellent selection by his peers to once again serve on SHEEO’s Executive Committee,” said Dr. Robert Anderson, SHEEO president. “I look forward to working alongside him over the coming year.”
Johnson served SHEEO as Executive Committee chair during 2018-19. Prior to serving as chair and chair-elect, Johnson served as treasurer during 2016-17. He was previously elected to serve consecutive terms on the Executive Committee in 2008, 2010, 2014 and 2015.
“I am honored to serve once again on SHEEO’s Executive Committee,” said Johnson. “I look forward to working collaboratively with the other members to ensure each of our state’s higher education systems are able to prepare graduates for a globally competitive workforce. Additionally, working closely with the SHEEO Executive Committee will provide me the opportunity to share the Oklahoma state system of higher education’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as learn best practices from other states that may be beneficial to our colleges and universities.”
Johnson received SHEEO’s Exceptional Leader Award in 2019. The award, which is SHEEO’s highest individual honor, is presented to a current state higher education executive officer who has shown exceptional leadership, a commitment to higher education, a contribution to the greater good, and service to the SHEEO association.
SHEEO, the national association of the chief executives of statewide governing boards and coordinating boards for postsecondary education, works to assist its members and states in developing and sustaining excellent systems of higher education.
Johnson was named chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education in January 2007 following a national search. Before assuming the role of chancellor, he served as the 16th president of Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant for 10 years. He was also director of public policy and adjunct professor of law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Prior to his work at OU, he served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1982 to 1996 and was speaker of the House from 1990 to 1996. At the time of his election as speaker, he was the youngest sitting speaker in the United States. Johnson is an honors graduate of OU with an undergraduate degree in political science and a juris doctorate from the OU College of Law, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2016. Johnson was selected by Leadership Oklahoma to receive the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award, which is the organization’s highest individual honor.