After serving as Interim Provost since May 1998, Sandra Johnson has been named provost of Saint Louis University. Johnson will continue her duties as chief academic officer, overseeing all academic, research and community service areas.
“This is a real privilege,” Johnson said. “Saint Louis University is my alma mater-the school I believe in. I know my job is at SLU.”
The position of Provost carries a large number of responsibilities and tasks in academic, research and community service areas. All of the 13 schools and colleges of SLU, along with the Vice Provosts for Student Development, Mission and Ministry and the Madrid campus, report to Johnson’s office. She is also responsible for developing and overseeing the budgets for each of the schools and colleges as well as academic and student programs not located in a specific school or college.
Other duties include overseeing the development and implementation of academic policies and the appointment, promotion and tenure of the faculty. Johnson serves as leader in the recruitment and retention of students, financial aid, faculty governance, promotion and tenure matters and research administration.
Johnson has also played a key role in the academic initiatives of Project SLU2000 and said that her appointment as Provost will give her the opportunity to see the results of these initiatives.
“I know that I’ll be here to deliver more of SLU2000 and see some of the outcomes,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that along with the continuation of her research work, she would like to resume teaching health law eventually. Although the majority of the classes she has taught in the past have allowed her to relate to professional and graduate students, Johnson said that her administrative positions at SLU have given her more opportunities to interact with undergraduate students.
Johnson’s appointment was approved by members of several university organizations, including the President’s Coordinating Council, the Council of Academic Deans, the Student Government Association, the Staff Advisory Committee and the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.
“She’s a very competent person,” said John Slosar, Faculty Senate president. “She’s strongly committed to the ideals of the university community.”
No national search for the position of Provost was conducted, a matter which raised questions regarding senior level administrative position appointments. After due consideration, the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate unanimously concurred with University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J.’s proposal to appoint Johnson to the position of provost on a permanent basis.
In regard to issues of shared governance, the committee also urged that all senior level administrative positions-including vice presidents, executive vice president and provost-should be filled through a national search. Also, in cases where vacancies occur and an acting or interim office is appointed, a search committee should be appointed and a national search process initiated at the same time.
According to a statement submitted by the Executive Committee to Biondi, “the executive committee was asked to make a recommendation and did so, acting in good conscience to represent the interests of the faculty and the university as whole. It should be pointed out that while the consultation process in this appointment was far from ideal, it does represent a step forward.” The statement added that the process of consulting groups such as the Faculty Senate and SGA is “more consultation than has taken place with past administrative appointments of this nature and even greater participation will be insisted upon in the future.”
Having taught at SLU since 1978, Johnson is a Professor of Law at the Center for Health Law Studies with joint appointments at the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. Johnson said that her previous administrative positions, along with her teaching duties, have given her a unique perspective on the University.
Johnson’s previous administrative positions in the School of Law include serving as Interim Dean from 1991-92, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 1979-81 and 1985-88, and director of the Center for Health Law Studies from 1982-85 and 1988-91.
Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Health Law Teacher award from the Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics in 1991 and the Outstanding Achievement Award in 1997. She was named Woman of the Year at Saint Louis University in 1997.
Johnson has served as President of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics and currently serves as Director of the Mayday Project on Legal and Regulatory Constraints on Effective Pain Relief at the Society. A fellow of the Hastings Center, Johnson has chaired the Section on Law, Medicine and Health Care of the Association of American Law Schools and has presented endowed lectures at several universities across the United States and Canada.
Furthermore, Johnson has served as consultant or project member for projects at the Institute of Medicine, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Federation of State Medical Boards, the New York State Public Health Council, the National Center for State Courts and the American Bar Association Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly, among other private and governmental organizations.
Johnson co-authored Health Law-Cases, Materials and Problems, Treatise on Health Law, Health Law Hornbook, and Property Law-Cases, Materials and Problems. She has also published articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine and several law reviews, addressing legal and ethical issues in bioethics, long-term care and quality-control regulation.
Johnson serves as Law Articles Editor for the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics and a peer reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of Clinical Ethics and the Gerontologist.
