Meet Christopher Johnson, UC’s first Black, deaf academic administrator

“People need to see that UC is employing deaf and neurodivergent leaders in prominent positions,” says Johnson, assistant dean of inclusive excellence at UC’s College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies (CCPS).

Johnson is spearheading an inclusive excellence strategic plan for CCPS, one of the largest co-op employer programs in the world. The university is widely known as the inventor in 1906 of co-op employer programs and more recently reported that in the 2023-24 academic year, more than 8,300 students earned an estimated $88.8 million collectively through paid co-op experiences — up 18% from the last reported data.

Christopher Johnson: Being culturally and linguistically deprived growing up in the South was a life-changing experience for me and my family. Being the first deaf person in my family to receive multiple degrees has pushed me to go above and beyond to raise the standard of academic excellence and sense of belonging, not only for deaf and hard-of-hearing students but also for [American Sign Language] students who passionately bridge gaps between mainstream and deaf communities.

Johnson: I was born deaf with no adequate resources or access to ASL or a community — what we usually call a “third space” — to properly equip me to become a leader in higher education. I grew up in a loving and supportive household where my parents raised the bar by constantly motivating me to read five or more books each summer. The resilience and persistent advocacy for my rights and access to education were the stepping stones that paved the way for my opportunity to break the cycle of Black deaf individuals being entrapped in the school-to-prison pipeline. To be Black and deaf in higher education is not interchangeable; it is addressing two separate experiences simultaneously.

Johnson: What drew me to the role of assistant dean of inclusive excellence was the realization of how transformative cooperative education can be, through a deaf lens. Initially, I didn’t fully grasp its significance, but through research and applicable experience, I’ve come to appreciate co-op's profound impact on students' experiential learning, academic excellence and the promotion of intellectual diversity in the classroom. This effort allows us to generate the problem solvers of tomorrow.

Johnson: Disability justice and inclusive excellence frameworks are essential to dismantling exclusionary practices in each of our decision-making processes. As Jesse Jackson said, “The problem is that the hearing world does not listen.” My hope is that this article inspires able-bodied individuals to break the barriers that have silenced the deaf community for centuries and to ensure that their voices are heard and valued in decision making, creating an inclusive and equitable university environment for all.

Read more about ASL at UC in A Sixth Sense.

Featured image at top of Christopher Johnson by Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.