Kristina Johnson Named SUNY Chancellor

Kristina M. Johnson has been named as 13^th chancellor of SUNY, the State University of New York Board of Trustees announced April 24.

Dr. Johnson is the current founder and chief executive officer of Cube Hydro Partners, LLC, which develops hydroelectric generation facilities that provide clean energy to communities and businesses throughout the country. She was appointed by President Barack Obama as U.S. Under Secretary of Energy and served as Johns Hopkins University provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, and professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

“I am excited about the appointment of Dr. Kristina M. Johnson as SUNY’s new Chancellor and I look forward to working with Dr. Johnson as she gets to know our students and faculty, and as she undertakes her journey at the helm at SUNY,” said Stony Brook University President, Samuel L. Stanley Jr. “Her background in academia, economic development and in the public arena should contribute greatly to her ability to work across the myriad levels of the SUNY system.”

“Throughout her distinguished career, Kristina Johnson has not only been a faculty member, administrator, and visionary in higher education but also a dedicated public servant, national energy czar, successful entrepreneur, and an acclaimed inventor,” said SUNY Chairman H. Carl McCall. “We are thrilled to welcome her to SUNY, where her range of experience will enable her to leverage the incredible work of our 64 colleges and universities.”

Dr. Johnson has been an advocate for women in leadership, advanced STEM and STEAM education, pioneered the creation of jobs through higher education-industry partnerships, established intensive research opportunities for students and faculty, and positioned leading institutions of higher education for greater success through the development of innovative strategic plans.

Dr. Johnson is an inventor and entrepreneur who holds 118 U.S. and international patents. She became a member of the National Academy of Inventors and the National Academy of Engineering in 2016 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, together with Gary Sharp, in 2015, for the development of polarization-control technologies that enabled high quality 3D movies and TV.

Current Chancellor Nancy Zimpher will step down from the position in June 2017 after an eight-year term during which she has positioned the university system as a national model.