The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents on Friday unanimously selected Tonjanita “Tonja” L. Johnson, a senior administrator at the University of Alabama System, as the next president of Wisconsin’s public university system.
Johnson, 57, has served since 2019 as senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the University of Alabama System. Her appointment is expected to begin on or about Jan. 1, 2027. She will be the 10th president of the Universities of Wisconsin.
The board’s Presidential Search Committee recommended Johnson to the full board after public forums, meetings with chancellors and UWs staff leadership, and interviews with the 24-member committee.
“I am deeply honored by the confidence the Board of Regents has placed in me and excited about the opportunity to serve the people of Wisconsin,” Johnson said in a statement. “Public higher education has the power to improve lives, strengthen communities, and shape a state’s future.”
She said she plans to work with chancellors, faculty, staff, students, elected leaders and partners across the state. “My goal is to help our remarkable UW universities become even stronger, more connected, and more consequential to the future of Wisconsin,” she said.
“The Universities of Wisconsin have always been ladders of opportunity, opening doors for students and creating possibilities for generations ahead,” Regent President Kyle Weatherly said. “Dr. Johnson understands that promise, and she also understands that fulfilling it in the future will require us to keep innovating. She will connect our universities even more closely to Wisconsin’s future.”
Regent Vice President Ashok Rai, who chaired the search committee, said Johnson “understands complex public university systems, she believes deeply in their ability to change lives and strengthen communities, and she has the ability to bring people together around a shared direction for the future.”
In her current role, Johnson oversees academic and student affairs for the Alabama system, including academic planning and program review, student success, and institutional research. She is the primary liaison to the system Board of Trustees’ academic affairs and student affairs committee and represents Alabama’s public universities with government agencies, education partners and national organizations.
She previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the University of Tennessee System, chief deputy to the president at Stony Brook University, and associate vice president for marketing and communications at Middle Tennessee State University. She has also held executive roles at Mississippi Valley State University.
A native of Butler, Alabama, Johnson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication from the University of Alabama and a doctorate in urban higher education from Jackson State University.
Renée Wachter will continue as interim president until Johnson takes office, then return to her post as chancellor of UW-Superior.
The Universities of Wisconsin enroll more than 164,500 students at 13 universities and employ about 41,000 faculty and staff statewide.
