Emma Elizabeth Johnson (née Strawn; 1863–1927) was an American educator who served as president of Johnson Bible College (now Johnson University), in Knoxville, 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.Claiming Our Inheritance
Johnson University. Retrieved November 26, 2017. In 1884, she married

Ashley S. Johnson Ashley Sydney Johnson (1857–1925) was a Protestant minister who founded Johnson University in Tennessee. Ashley S. Johnson born in East Tennessee on June 22, 1857, and by age sixteen was a school teacher in the Knox County School System. At ag ...

, 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 an old family property in Kimberlin Heights; it was renamed Johnson Bible College in 1909, and later became known by its current name,

Johnson University Johnson University is a private Christian university with its main campus in Kimberlin Heights, Tennessee, and a second campus in Kissimmee, Florida. It is affiliated with the Christian churches and churches of Christ, a branch of the Restora ...

.Ashley Sydney Johnson
History of the Restoration Movement. Retrieved November 26, 2017. As well as serving as a professor of

Biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...

, 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". 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. Johnson was keen to maintain the university's independence, rejecting an offer to join the conservative Christian Restoration Association.Letter from Emma Johnson to James Deforest Murch
Digital Commons @ Abilene Christian University. Retrieved November 26, 2017. She died of cancer in May 1927, and bequeathed all her possessions to the college. Her only child was born in 1891, but died at birth; the complications rendered her

infertile Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Emma 1863 births 1927 deaths Women heads of universities and colleges Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Johnson University alumni Academics from Ontario Canadian emigrants to the United States American biblical scholars American evangelicals Canadian academic administrators Female biblical scholars

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References