The Board of Regents today unanimously selected Tonja Johnson, a senior vice chancellor in the University of Alabama System, to become the Universities of Wisconsin’s next president.
Johnson, 57, will be the first person of color to lead the system since its creation in 1971.
“My goal is to help our remarkable UW universities become even stronger, more connected, and more consequential to the future of Wisconsin,” Johnson said.
Johnson was one of three finalists for the position, along with Steven Gareth Holley, executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer at the University of Mississippi, and Bernard Savarese, vice president for academic affairs, research, and student success at the University of Tennessee System.
Renée Wachter will continue to serve as interim president until Johnson takes office on or around Jan. 1. Wachter will then return to her post as chancellor of UW-Superior.
Johnson will be the 10th president in system history, replacing Jay Rothman, who the regents fired in April.
