EAST GREENSBORO, NC (June 2, 2023) – Frances Ward-Johnson, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University , was elected to the board of directors. from the directors of the National Humanities Alliance (NHA), a national coalition of organizations that advocate for the humanities on campuses, in communities, and on Capitol Hill.
Founded in 1981, NHA is supported by more than 260 organizations, including colleges, universities, libraries, museums, cultural organizations, national humanities councils, and scholarly, professional, and higher education associations. It is the only American organization that brings together the humanities community as a whole.
“I am incredibly honored to serve on the board of directors of the National Humanities Alliance,” Ward-Johnson said. “I look forward to continuing to champion the humanities and advance NHA’s mission.” »
Ward-Johnson joins the board as the only representative from a historically black college or university. She has more than 30 years of experience in higher education and has served on numerous boards, most recently ArtsGreensboro, a community-supported organization that is the largest public and private alliance dedicated to supporting the artistic economy of the Triad.
As dean of CAHSS, Ward-Johnson oversees six academic departments: English, Criminal Justice, History and Political Science, Journalism and Mass Communication, Liberal Studies, and Visual and Performing Arts. She leads the college’s mission to adapt to change by preparing students for a global workforce by providing high-quality academic programs, scholarly research, and innovative, interdisciplinary services.
Under Ward-Johnson’s leadership, CAHSS has received more than $2.5 million in humanities-related grants and she is committed to demonstrating the importance of the humanities’ impact on higher education. Additionally, she led the university’s development of a Social Justice Center of Excellence focused on eliminating social justice inequities.
As a member of the NHA Board of Directors, Ward-Johnson will meet throughout the year with leaders of the American Council of Learned Societies, the Modern Language Association, the American Historical Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Association of American Universities, and other organizations and universities. Their goal will be to share the knowledge, cross-cultural understanding, wisdom and compassion gained by supporting the humanities.
Prior to joining NC A&T, Ward-Johnson held a variety of leadership positions and was a tenured faculty member at Elon University for 15 years, including serving as Professor of Leadership in the Provost’s Office, where she defended the institution’s commitment to leadership training. She co-led study abroad programs in Barbados and Greece and taught a national studies course for many years in which she guided leadership fellows on a tour of the Deep South to study civil rights and leadership.
Prior to her tenure at Elon, Ward-Johnson was a faculty member in A&T’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to that, she was responsible for internal and external communications for the Center for Creative Leadership, a leading global provider of leadership development and executive education, headquartered in Greensboro.
Ward-Johnson graduated cum laude from A&T where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in English and African-American literature. She holds a Ph.D. He holds a doctorate in mass communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a graduate of the Institute for Educational Management and Leadership at Harvard University.
