Dr. Ronald Johnson is the first black professor that many Texas State students have ever had.
He uses it as fuel to give students an experience symbolic of what it feels like to hold a conversation with him: An educational roller coaster filled with passion, culture, gratitude and love.
“When I walk into any classroom (at Texas State), I am not walking into a classroom; I am about to create and establish a community,” Dr. Johnson said. “We are building a community that is committed to each other’s success.”
Outside of his unwavering affection for teaching history, Dr. Johnson, along with other black faculty, serves as a mentor for black students and groups across campus—some of whom have been at the forefront of racial turmoil in recent years.
“When I watch African American students step up and just show out, not just show up and make noise, but step up to the plate, put real concrete ideas on the table and defend those ideas rhetorically, in writing and with reason, I could not be more proud,” Dr. Johnson said.
He is a treasure of knowledge for anyone willing to listen. And he learns just as much from students as they glean from him.
Tune in to this episode of The Block to hear Dr. Johnson discuss faculty and student diversity at Texas State, student impact on his life, advice for black students finding their path and more:

Podcast intro music by M. Pire “The Sire” & MsQuietGroove