Jackson State University Executive Ph.D. graduate Dr. Tonjanita Johnson has been selected as vice president for communications and marketing for the University of Tennessee System.
Johnson, currently chief deputy to the president at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, was chosen by UT President Joe DiPietro following a comprehensive national search.
“Dr. Johnson has excellent skills, expertise and broad experience to serve in this role, and we look forward to her joining our team. I am confident in her ability to lead strategic communication and marketing efforts at this important time for the University as we seize upon the national emphasis on the value and impact of higher education,” DiPietro said.
Johnson has responsibility for overall communications, research-based messaging, marketing, and branding activity for the UT system.
“It is a tremendous honor for me to join the University of Tennessee family and to take a leading role in promoting the UT System’s agenda for higher education,” Johnson said. “I am extremely proud of my new affiliation with the UT brand and look forward to developing productive relationships across the state and the nation on behalf of this exceptional system as I engage in my new role as vice president.”
Her career began in 1991 as a newspaper reporter for The Decatur Daily in Decatur, Ala. She was on the communication staff of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa from 1993 to 1996, and worked as a graphic designer, copy editor, freelance writer and communication consultant from 1996 to 2001.
Johnson received a doctoral degree in urban higher education from Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss. She received master’s and bachelor’s degrees in communication from the University of Alabama.