Interview with Oregon State University President, Becky Johnson

Today, we are talking to Oregon State University interim President, Becky Johnson.  After the last president stepped down after only nine months on the job, OSU needed someone to step up and restore confidence.  With 37 years of involvement at OSU, President Johnson was the ideal candidate to take up the reins.  She’s known for being humble and having the ability to project calm.  She credits this with a strategy of standing back and accepting the situation.  Likewise, she says nothing is ever as bad as it seems at the moment.  Even in the worst of times, a calm presence is needed more than ever.

Coming through the pandemic, President Johnson believes focus needs to be on resources for getting more students into college.  It’s important that we help kids to start thinking about college starting in middle school.  Waiting until their juniors and seniors in high school doesn’t do them any justice.  She believes it’s time for K-12 partnerships to be updated.

President Johnson credits her involvement in team sports for teaching her leadership.  She says team sports taught her how important confidence is and that it’s important for leaders to display confidence if they expect others to follow them.  She also learned to look closely at who is on her team and where their strengths lie.  Getting people in the positions they’re best suited for is critical.  She’s also found importance in having a vision and reverse engineering to see what is needed to realize that vision.

When others come to President Johnson for advice, she’s quick to ask them to be authentic.  Don’t get in the habit of saying what you think needs to be said because of your position; be honest, so people can trust in you.  When it comes to leading in a difficult time such as COVID-19, President Johnson tells others to listen and assess.  Find out what people are worried about, what the challenges are, and then assess what you can realistically do about it.  Focus on moving forward where you can.