SLCC at Forest Park greets its new president, Morris F. Johnson
By Anisha F. Coleman
For the Saint Louis American
St. Louis Community College rolled out the red carpet this past Thursday to introduce the new president of its Forest Park campus, Morris F. Johnson. Black-tie attire and a five-star meal prepared by the college’s culinary arts students set the posh tone of the evening.
While invited guests mingled with prominent members of the community and college, Johnson navigated the crowd with ease.
Dr. Henry D. Shannon, chancellor of SLCC, opened the floor with a poetic introduction recognizing Johnson’s accomplishments while providing insight into his extensive experience in urban education during Johnson’s tenure with the Maricopa Community College system in Arizona. Johnson held the position of dean of Student Affairs and for 10 months served as interim president.
“From the first time I spoke with Morris, I knew he was what we at SLCC were looking for and precisely who Forest Park Community College needed as president,” Shannon said.
“His most compelling attributes were his excellent interpersonal skills, his eagerness to be highly visible to the students whom he serves, his immense dedication to the community, his expansive experience in urban community college education, and the massive respect his colleagues, community and students shared for him.”
Shannon shared a revealing anecdote about the degree of collegial respect Johnson inspired in Arizona.
“When some of Morris’ colleagues at Phoenix caught wind that we were eyeing him for the job, they shed tears and said, ‘Don’t take him, he’s a great man, he’s done so much for our community and we would hate to lose him,’” Shannon said.
“That’s when I knew Forest Park was in the midst of obtaining greatness.”
Shannon stressed Johnson’s extreme approachability, a subject Johnson himself addressed when he spoke to the group.
“When I first came on board, some students appeared shocked to see me walking throughout the halls talking with the students and asking them about their varying motivations to succeed,” Johnson said.
“My perspective is that our students are our foremost commitment, and unless we get to know them on a personal basis, we can’t serve them in their educational needs. Therefore, I pride myself in being highly visible and approachable in our partnership with our students.”
Johnson also stressed the importance of pursuing partnerships outside of campus – namely, with prep schools.
“In order to adequately connect with the community, one has to visibly reach out to the community,” Johnson said.
“I look forward to forming partnerships with the area high schools in order to build fundamental bridges to secondary education through our community college.”
With his history in urban education, Johnson is familiar with the achievement gaps in the African-American community and is determined to bridge it at Forest Park through effective curriculum implementation, partnering with neighboring communities and innovative networking strategies to raise funds to enhance learning resources.
“I am determined that Forest Park will be the flagship institution for the St. Louis Community College district,” Johnson said.
“With any major project, it will take work, but I have seen firsthand the exuberant capabilities of Forest Park’s staff and I’m confident that collectively, we will reach our goal.”
At the event, Johnson noted that he already had been president of the campus for 68 days. Watching him coolly interact with his colleagues and the community in such a formal atmosphere gave the impression that he had been on the job much longer than that.
