Emma Elizabeth Johnson

Emma Elizabeth Johnson (née Strawn; 1863–1927) was an American educator who served as president of Johnson Bible College, Tennessee, from 1925 until her death. She was the first American woman to serve as president of a co-educational university.

Johnson was born in Ontario, Canada.[1] In 1884, she married Ashley S. Johnson, an evangelical minister from Tennessee. They moved to South Carolina after their marriage, where they engaged in church planting and Ashley started a correspondence school for Bible studies. In 1893, the Johnsons moved back to Tennessee and opened "The School of the Evangelists" on a old family property in Kimberlin Heights; it was renamed Johnson Bible College in 1909, and later became known by its current name, Johnson University.[2]

As well as serving as a professor of Bible studies, Johnson oversaw the financial aspects of the college, serving as treasurer and registrar. She was vice-president to her husband, and became known as the college's "matriarch".[1] When her husband died in January 1925, she succeeded him as president – the first female college president in the United States outside of women's colleges.[3] Johnson was keen to maintain the university's independence, rejecting an offer to join the conservative Christian Restoration Association.[4] She died of cancer in May 1927, and bequeathed all her possessions to the college.[1] Her only child was born in 1891, but died at birth; the complications rendered her infertile.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Claiming Our Inheritance, Johnson University. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Ashley Sydney Johnson, History of the Restoration Movement. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  3. ↑ Women in Leadership | The climb, the struggle and the continuous fight, Her, February 14, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  4. ↑ Letter from Emma Johnson to James Deforest Murch, Digital Commons @ Abilene Christian University. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
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