Josie Johnson in 1971 became the first Black member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. Photo: Courtesy of the University Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries
In 1971, Gov. Wendell Anderson approached Johnson about serving on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents.
She accepted and became the first Black member of the U's governing board.
Zoom in: Prior to becoming a regent, she founded the U's Department of Afro-American and African Studies, introducing courses such as "Black Families in White America" and "Black People and the Welfare System," according to a recent profile in a magazine run by the U's College of Education and Human Development.
Johnson left the board after just a few years but returned to the U in the late 1980s. She spent the next decade working in roles ranging from senior fellow to associate president for multicultural affairs.
What they're saying: U leaders have credited Johnson with paving a path for future Black regents and for making diversity and inclusion core values and priorities for the school.
"She has led and inspired the hopeful journey for freedom, justice and opportunity," former president Robert Bruininks told the U publication last year.
