The AYCGL welcomes Amos Johnson, Ph.D., ’96 as the new Coca Cola Endowed Chair of Leadership Studies
I am honored to have been selected as the next Coca-Cola Endowed Chair of Leadership Studies (LSP) in the Andrew Young Center.
In 1996, I graduated from Morehouse College and Georgia Institute of Technology with dual degrees in General Science and Electrical Engineering. I later earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2002, where my research focused on pattern recognition algorithms to identify people from their walking patterns and on creating algorithms to discover patterns in video surveillance data.
I am now starting my 19th year at Morehouse College as an Associate Professor of Computer Science. In the classroom and through research grants, I have focused on providing students with the best instruction possible and on enhancing their learning experience in computer science.
I have worked with Google to train HBCU students to become leaders in product development within the technology sector. For the past five years, I have been managing a joint grant with Virginia Tech to increase minority careers in the Intelligence Community.
Outside of the academic space, in 2014, I founded a global church that has helped over twenty thousand people from more than 100 countries of various ethnic and cultural groups grow in spiritual faith and discover their purpose in life.
Because Morehouse Men need to lead in various areas of society, my vision for the Leadership Studies Program is to build upon the rich tradition of social justice leadership while expanding the scope to include leadership in sectors such as science, technology, social media, and the intelligence community.
Leadership is influence, and in today's society, it can be self-obtained through social media without gatekeepers. This democratization of leadership can be both positive and negative, as it allows people to gain influence for good or bad. In this new world where everyone has the potential to gain a leadership platform, Morehouse Men should lead the way in stewarding their influence for the good of society amidst diverse opinions about what is "good." Morehouse Men will have to navigate the tension of leading in a society divided along racial, gender, political, religious, national, and cultural lines.
Morehouse Men are built for this challenge because Morehouse College is founded on leadership. I believe every Morehouse student should have the opportunity to engage with the Leadership Studies Program. However, depending on their major, they may not have room for a full minor in Leadership Studies. Therefore, part of my vision is to create a non-curricular leadership certificate designed to engage students from various parts of campus.
I look forward to contributing to the continued success of the Leadership Studies Program.
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Coca Cola Endowed Chair of Leadership Studies
