Black Enterprise: UC hires first Black, deaf assistant dean
Johnson featured in Black-owned national publication
A profile of Christopher Johnson, UC’s first Black, deaf assistant dean, garnered thousands of likes and scores of comments on @blackenterprise.
Black Enterprise is a Black-owned multimedia company established in the 1970s. Its flagship product Black Enterprise magazine has covered African American businesses with a readership of 3.7 million. The profile also appeared in the company’s online publication.
“People need to see that UC is employing deaf and neurodivergent leaders in prominent positions,” states Johnson, assistant dean of inclusive excellence at UC’s College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies (CCPS).
Johnson is spearheading an inclusive excellence strategic plan for CCPS, one of the largest co-op employer programs in the world. The university is widely known as the inventor in 1906 of co-op employer programs and more recently reported that in the 2023-24 academic year, more than 8,300 students earned an estimated $88.8 million collectively through paid co-op experiences — up 18% from the last reported data.
A UC News profile of Johnson ran in conjunction with International Week of Deaf People, Sept. 19-23 when he was also featured in the UC News article “Sixth Sense.” That article covers UC’s American Sign Language (ASL) program and how two students found they were related by taking ASL classes.
Feature image of Johnson by Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Tags
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.