President's Biography
Alex Johnson
President, Community College of Allegheny County
Dr. Johnson's Biography (PDF)
As president of the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), which serves more than 62,000 students annually in greater Pittsburgh, Alex Johnson is concentrating on seven key initiatives. These include strengthening CCAC’s commitment to diversity, emphasizing the importance of the college’s 10 campuses and centers as part of a one-college whole, focusing on a learning-centered environment and leading the effort to address the region’s workforce and economic development needs.
He is also expanding recognition of the college’s regional impact as college of first choice and focusing on building and updating facilities needed for innovative learning. Finally, Dr. Johnson is working to strengthen the college’s financial position through effective and efficient budget management processes and the expansion of revenue streams.
He served previously as chancellor of Delgado Community College and president, Metropolitan Campus, Cuyahoga Community college.
Nationally, Dr. Johnson serves on the boards of the National Labor College, Campus Compact, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the American Association for Community Colleges (AACC), where he chairs the AACC Commission on Diversity, Inclusion & Equity. He is also a member of AACC’s Voluntary Framework for Accountability Steering Committee and its 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges. He is serving a two-year term as president of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges and is a member of Governor Tom Corbett's commission on higher education.
Examples of Dr. Johnson’s local board memberships are the United Way of Allegheny County, Highmark’s Caring Foundation, The Buhl Foundation, Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB) and Youth Futures Commission. He serves as co-chair of Vibrant Pittsburgh.
He received the Pittsburgh Business Times Diamond Award and has been named a New Pittsburgh Courier Man of Excellence, Phi Theta Kappa’s President of the Year, a Frank G. Jackson Visionary and Innovator of the Year by the League for Innovation. He has published and presented extensively on topics concerning higher education administration.
He earned a doctorate from the Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree from Lehman College and a bachelor’s degree from Winston-Salem State University. He completed the Executive Leadership Institute of the League for Innovation and the Management Development Program at Harvard University and was an ACE Fellow. He is the recipient of two honorary degrees.