Legislature honors service of Higher Education Chancellor Glen D. Johnson

OKLAHOMA CITY –The Legislature paid tribute to retiring Higher Education Chancellor Glen D. Johnson on Wednesday, thanking him for his service to the state and wishing him well as he begins his next chapter.  Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, and House Chair of the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education Mark McBride, R-Moore, are coauthors of Senate Concurrent Resolution 10, honoring Johnson’s extensive service to the state. Johnson retires as chancellor Sept. 30, 2021.

“Dr. Johnson’s family is from my hometown of Okemah, and they have a long tradition of public service in Oklahoma.  His father was a U.S. Congressman, and Glen began his own career on the Okemah Board of Education.  He quickly rose through the ranks of Oklahoma’s House of Representatives and became the youngest House Speaker in the nation.  He later served 10 years as the president of Southeastern Oklahoma State University. After a nationwide search, in January 2007, he became Oklahoma’s eighth Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher education,” Thompson said.  “His accomplishments have moved our state and our higher education system forward, and in every position, he has served with integrity, sincerity, dedication and distinction.  Our state is better for Chancellor Johnson’s service.”

Johnson has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout his career, including induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame.  He was also the recipient of the State Higher Education Executive Officers’ Association (SHEEO) Exceptional Leader Award honoring the outstanding higher education chancellor/system head in 2019 and Leadership Oklahoma’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.  He is currently the longest-serving chancellor/system-head in the nation.

“Chancellor Johnson has done an outstanding job for the students and educators in our higher education system since taking the helm of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education more than 14 years ago,” McBride said. “We all should be incredibly grateful for his leadership and his dedication to seeing students in our state equipped for the next phases of their life after college.”

Johnson, joined on the floor by his wife, Melinda, was given the opportunity to address the Senate and thanked President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, Thompson, Floor Leader Kim David and the members for recognizing his service to the state and to education.

“Serving in the Legislature for 14 years and 25 years in higher education…as a university president and as your chancellor, I have hopefully played a small part in giving our students the opportunity to achieve and realize their dreams through a college education,” Johnson said. “I very strongly believe that public service is a noble profession, and it’s been my privilege to be a part of it.”

For more information, contact Sen. Roger Thompson at 405-521-5588 or email Roger.Thompson@oksenate.gov