UC welcomes first black deaf administrator

By Angela KoenigUniversity of CincinnatiChristopher Johnson became the first Black, deaf assistant dean at the University of Cincinnati in May 2024 — a first for the institution and a rarity in academia.“People need to see that UC is employing deaf and neurodivergent leaders in prominent positions,” says 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.To build on UC’s outstanding record, Johnson says he will focus on bringing disability awareness into the classroom and disability justice into the co-op program, enabling students to become problem solvers in a world that often centers around the able-bodied.His philosophy: “If you don’t have the answer, you find the answer by overcoming fear and including marginalized identities at the table, not on the side.” According to national data, 2% of the population...