CHARLES DENTON JOHNSON, PH.D.


Cary, North Carolina 27519

cdjohnson05@gmail.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charles-johnson-096b9624/

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Academic leader, department chair, and public historian with a sustained record of advancing student success, strengthening academic programs, stewarding financial and human resources, and building community-engaged partnerships at a comprehensive public HBCU. Currently serving as Chair and Associate Professor of History at North Carolina Central University, where I provide strategic leadership for academic programs, faculty and staff, budgeting, facilities, assessment, and external engagement.

Recognized for translating mission-driven values into measurable outcomes, including strong retention and graduate placement, external fundraising growth, national scholarly visibility, and the expansion of interdisciplinary and digital infrastructure. Experienced in shared governance, accreditation-adjacent program review, and cross-unit collaboration with academic affairs, student affairs, advancement, and community partners. Committed to leading colleges of arts, social sciences, and education as integrated academic enterprises that advance equity, rigor, and institutional vitality in urban-serving institutions.

SELECTED IMPACT METRICS

  • $1.16M annual state operating budget managed; $69K foundation account doubled in two years

  • $210,000+ in external funding secured across leadership roles

  • 24 faculty and staff supervised (tenure-track, fixed-term, adjunct, administrative)

  • 95 alumni have earned doctorates; 21 current doctoral students, including Ivy League placements

  • 8 doctoral placements in two years (Brown, Duke, Indiana University, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Greensboro)

  • Lead author of a 300-page Academic Program Review supporting accreditation and continuous improvement

CORE LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

College-level academic leadership and operations • Budgeting and resource stewardship • Faculty recruitment, evaluation, and mentoring • Curriculum development and assessment • Program review and accreditation readiness • Student success, retention, and graduate placement • External funding and advancement • Community-engaged partnerships • Interdisciplinary and digital infrastructure development • Shared governance and faculty leadership

SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS

Chair and Associate Professor of History

North Carolina Central University | 2023–present

Director, Public History Program

North Carolina Central University | 2015–2023

SELECTED ADMINISTRATIVE & INSTITUTIONAL IMPACT

  • Provide strategic leadership and administrative oversight for one of the nation’s most productive departments in graduating African American historians, leading the UNC System in African American BA, MA, and PhD degree production over the past decade.

  • Direct planning, development, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of undergraduate and graduate curricula; align departmental priorities with college and university strategic goals.

  • Lead faculty recruitment, retention, mentoring, evaluation, and workload management for a department of eleven tenure-track faculty, three fixed-term faculty, nine adjunct faculty, and one administrative assistant.

  • Provided leadership for history teacher education programs housed within the department, including collaboration on recruitment, retention, advising pathways, and Praxis examination preparation.

  • Manage a $1.16M state operating budget and $69K foundation account; raised $110,000 in philanthropic support in two years, doubling foundation resources for student success.

  • Designed and executed a comprehensive external Academic Program Review, authoring a 300-page self-study supporting accreditation, assessment, and long-term planning.

  • Expanded departmental portfolio to include Interdisciplinary Studies, a Digital Humanities Minor, and a Digital Humanities Lab, strengthening interdisciplinary capacity and institutional infrastructure.

  • Developed and implemented a strategic recruitment plan engaging secondary schools, community colleges, and regional institutions to grow undergraduate and graduate enrollment.

  • Organized and directed the 85th Anniversary Gala, Symposium, and Homecoming Reception for the History Graduate Program, strengthening alumni engagement and institutional visibility.

BUDGET, PERSONNEL, AND RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP

  • Oversight of departmental fiscal operations, including state funds, foundation accounts, and externally funded projects.

  • Strategic allocation of resources to support student success initiatives, faculty research, technology infrastructure, and experiential learning.

  • Supervision and evaluation of faculty and staff; coordination of adjunct hiring, onboarding, and instructional quality assurance.

PROGRAM, CURRICULUM, AND INFRASTRUCTURE LEADERSHIP

  • Led development of interdisciplinary and digitally focused curricula, including the undergraduate course AI and the African Diaspora, linking humanities and computer science across HBCU campuses.

  • Designed and implemented graduate and undergraduate public history curricula emphasizing community-engaged scholarship, digital humanities, and applied research.

  • Oversaw creation and expansion of digital infrastructure supporting oral history, GIS, digital archives, and public scholarship.

STUDENT SUCCESS AND ENROLLMENT OUTCOMES

  • Increased GPA of undergraduate majors to 3.3.

  • Guided graduate students into competitive doctoral programs and professional public history positions nationwide.

  • Expanded experiential learning through conferences, exhibitions, oral history projects, and immersive international study (Belize).

    • Co-led an international experiential learning course on Garifuna history and culture, immersing ten students in community-based learning in Belize (May 2025) and fostering transformative engagement with Garifuna music, language, history, traditions, and foodways.

    • Organized and led three faculty members and thirty-one students to the ASALH annual conference in Atlanta (September 2025), where students delivered twelve scholarly presentations and served as Woodson Scholars, marking the largest student delegation ever from a single institution.

EXTERNAL FUNDING AND ADVANCEMENT (SELECTED)

  • Artificial Intelligence and the African Diaspora (National Humanities Center), $10,000

  • Expanding the Digital Library on American Slavery (ACLS), $148,817 – Principal Investigator

  • Dangerous Harbor Implementation (NEH), $349,999 – Partner

  • Durham Black Burial Grounds Collaboratory (Duke Endowment), $31,515 – Partner

  • Additional grants supporting oral history, environmental justice, and community-engaged scholarship

COMMUNITY, K–12, AND INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

  • Built sustained partnerships with museums, archives, community organizations, K–12 schools, and national cultural institutions.

  • Served as Lead Historian on international exhibitions installed at the Apartheid Museum (Johannesburg) and the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC).

  • Founder of NC Ascend, a professional development pipeline linking students with industry partners (Cisco, Merck).


EDUCATION

Ph.D., African History, Magna Cum Laude — Howard University, 2004

M.A., African History, Magna Cum Laude — North Carolina Central University, 1995

B.A., Business Administration — Morehouse College, 1990

SCHOLARSHIP (SELECTED)

Books

Johnson, Charles D., and Arwin Smallwood. More Than Just a Game: NC A&T vs. NCCU. Arcadia Press, 2023.

Harper, Jim, et al. Topics in African Diaspora History. Kendall Hunt, 2016.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Johnson, Charles D., et al. “In Memoriam Charles Johnson, Jr., M.D.” Journal of the National Medical Association 114, no. 1 (2022).

Johnson, Charles D. “Rethinking the Emergence of the Struggle for South African Liberation.” Journal of Southern African Studies 39, no. 1 (2013).

(Additional chapters, digital scholarship, exhibitions, and media projects retained in full in appendices.)


SIGNATURE INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL EXHIBITIONS

Lead Historian, American Voices Against Apartheid

Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa (May 2023)

Hall of Nations, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC (September 2023)

International, multi-institutional exhibition examining the role of American individuals and organizations in the global anti-apartheid movement

Responsible for historical interpretation, narrative framing, scholarly accuracy, and coordination with curatorial and institutional partners

Co-Curator, More Than Just a Game: NC A&T vs. NCCU

Museum of Durham History; Greensboro History Museum; Brooklyn Collective (2021–2022)

Multi-site exhibition reaching regional and national audiences


NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

Member, National Board of Directors, National Council on Public History (2023–2026)

Panelist, National Endowment for the Humanities, Humanities Initiatives Review Panels


UNIVERSITY AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE (SELECTED)

Vice-Chair, Faculty Senate, North Carolina Central University

Chair, Public History & Digital Humanities Subcommittee, ASALH

Board Member, Preservation Durham; Museum of Durham History (former)


HONORS AND RECOGNITION

Who’s Who in America, 2024

College Excellence in Research Award, NCCU (2022, 2023)

College Excellence in Teaching Award, NCCU (2017, 2019, 2021)


REFERENCES

Available upon request

 

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