Kristina Johnson appointed chancellor of SUNY as state’s controversial free tuition plan kicks in

Kristina Johnson was named chancellor of the state’s public college system, SUNY announced Monday, a job that will include shepherding New York’s brand new college affordability plan.

“I’m very excited and grateful to be here and [have] the opportunity to serve a system and a state whose governor has put higher education front and center in his agenda,” Johnson said.

An engineer by training, Johnson is currently CEO of a company that focuses on providing clean energy to communities and businesses and served as under-secretary of energy for President Barack Obama. Previously, she was the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Johns Hopkins University.

Johnson, who starts in September, will replace Nancy Zimpher, who will step down in June after an eight-year stint at the top of the state university system. Zimpher was known for casting SUNY as an institution driving economic growth, and for trying to elevate the teaching profession through a program called TeachNY.

As chancellor, Johnson will oversee a system that served 1.3 million students in 2015-16. And as colleges across the country grapple with issues raised by student debt, Johnson takes the helm at a significant moment.

The state’s new Excelsior Scholarship will provide free tuition at SUNY and CUNY schools for families earning less than $125,000 per year. Governor Andrew Cuomo has hailed the scholarship as a national milestone in the free college movement. But experts have raised questions about whether the plan’s rules, including strict credit requirements and a requirement to stay in-state after graduation, will limit the number of students who can take advantage of it.

Johnson did not share any of those criticisms when interviewed by the New York Times in an article Monday, calling the scholarship “outrageously ambitious.”

In a statement, Zimpher praised her soon-to-be replacement. “The future of SUNY is indeed bright under the leadership of Dr. Johnson.”