Meet Your 2014 Dean for a Day

Tiffany Johnson was impressed by CHASS Dean Jeff Braden when she participated in a brown bag lunch the dean holds periodically with students. “He had an air of calm, even though his job is extremely stressful,” she remembers. That meeting piqued her curiosity enough that she applied — and was chosen by a panel of CHASS student ambassadors — to be the 2014 Dean for a Day.

Johnson will run the college on Wednesday, February 12, taking over the dean’s challenging schedule of meetings with faculty,  staff, donors and administrators.

Dean Jeff Braden, meanwhile, will wear Johnson’s shoes for the day, figuratively speaking.  And he will be hoofing it. Johnson is a Dean’s List scholar with double majors in Political Science and Communication. Her Wednesday classes range from “Supreme Court and Public Policy” and “Administration of Justice” to “Introduction to Film” and “Communication and Technology.” And of course, there are extracurricular activities as well.

Johnson also hopes the dean will get a sense of her experience as an African American female at a predominantly white institution. “Hopefully, our switch will allow us to gain such a great perspective that it will be life changing for both of us,” she says.

Stay tuned for more coverage of the annual Dean for a Day event, including pictures and reflections from both student Jeff Braden and Dean Tiffany Johnson.