Johnston named MSU provost

Midwestern State University alumnus Dr. James Johnston has been named MSU's Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Johnston was selected after a national search that was narrowed to four finalists, who visited the MSU campus earlier this month.

Johnston has served as Interim Provost/VPAA since February 1, 2017, after former provost Dr. Betty Stewart was named Provost at the University of North Texas at Dallas. Previously, Johnston was Interim Dean of the Robert D. and Carol Gunn College of Health Sciences and Human Services during 2012, before being officially named dean in August 2013. He has taught in MSU's Department of Radiologic Sciences since 2003.

Education has been Johnston's dream job since he was a child. By high school, he had narrowed his focus to sciences, then he found radiology - a field where he could combine hard science with the compassion of health care. He graduated from South Plains College with highest honors with an Associate of Applied Science in Radiologic Sciences in 1986. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Sciences in 1993 and Master of Science in Radiologic Sciences in 2003, both from MSU, and his Ph.D. in Health Studies from Texas Woman's University in 2006.

He was named a fellow in the American Society of Radiologic Technologists in 2012, and also that year received the MSU Faculty Award for teaching excellence. Johnston has also co-authored textbooks used in radiologic sciences and contributed articles to medical journals and scholarly publications.

Johnston grew up in Slaton, Texas, near Lubbock. He and his wife, Stephanie, show Arabian horses.