Melvin Johnson to Retire as President of Tennessee State University

Chancellor Charles Manning announced today that he has accepted the retirement of Melvin Johnson as president of Tennessee State University effective January 1, 2011. Johnson cited family and personal reasons for his decision to step down from the presidency. According to Manning, “Melvin Johnson is a hard-working man of great integrity, and he has been a pleasure to work with. We respect his decision to retire from the presidency at TSU and return to the classroom.” Johnson, who holds a doctorate in business administration from Indiana University, was granted tenure in the Department of Economics and Finance at TSU on his appointment as president. Plans are that effective January 2, 2011, Johnson will begin service as a tenured full professor. After a period of transition and retooling during the spring and summer, he will return to the classroom for the fall semester, beginning August 15, at an annual salary of $130,000. During the transition from January until August, he will be paid at an annual rate of $175,000. According to TBR Vice-Chairman Bob Thomas, “The board very much appreciates Mel Johnson’s efforts as president, and we know he will be an asset to TSU’s faculty. Over the next several weeks, we will begin considering what steps to take in terms of a replacement for Johnson as president.” Johnson was appointed president of TSU in March 2005. He had served since 2000 as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Tennessee Board of Regents is the nation’s sixth largest higher education system, governing 45 post-secondary educational institutions. The TBR system includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 26 technology centers, providing programs in 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties to over 200,000 students.