Black Enterprise: UC hires first Black, deaf assistant dean

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.