Ohio State President-elect Kristina M. Johnson gives a Brutus Buckeye pin to every student she meets.

The pin helps her keep track of who she meets so she can remember when they meet again.

“I mean it’s daunting, we have 60,000 students,” Johnson said. “I can’t wait to meet all of them.” 

Sandwiched between meeting University Senate leaders and a two-hour cabinet meeting, talking to students — bag of pins in tow — is exactly what Johnson did on the Oval Monday. Coming from her role as chancellor of the State University of New York System, Johnson said in a June 4 interview with The Lantern that interacting with students on a daily basis is what she looked forward to the most about her university presidency.

Johnson takes over from former President Michael V. Drake nearly two months after his contract ended at the end of June. Drake — who was appointed as president of the University of California System in July — was not replaced by an interim president, and Johnson’s arrival on campus Monday comes before her contract begins.

“I don’t officially start till Sept. 1, but I’m so excited, I’m starting early,” she said.

For her Tuesday plans, Johnson said she has a “bunch of work” in her backpack, meetings with state officials and lunch with Gary Heminger, chair of the Board of Trustees. She will also sit in on the Board’s afternoon meeting of the Academic Affairs, Student Life & Research Committee, during which she is set to be approved as a tenured professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Johnson is an electrical engineer by trade, having received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Before her role as chancellor of SUNY, Johnson served as undersecretary of energy in the U.S. Department of Energy during the Obama administration. She also previously served as dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Johns Hopkins University, according to the SUNY website.

Per Johnson’s employment contract, she has a $900,000 base salary with an annual performance bonus of $225,000. She will also receive $200,000 contributed to her university retirement account annually, a fund of $50,000 annually to support her research and education, and an $85,000 annual allowance to be used for “fringe” expenses, including an automobile, and financial or tax planning services.

With a five-year contract and the challenge of handling a university during a pandemic ahead of her, Johnson had one thing to say to students, faculty and staff on campus for the first day of classes.

 “If we can just work together, wear our masks, socially distance and keep safe, we can do something and lead the country,” she said.