Tuskegee President Examines Du Bois, Faith

Brian L. Johnson, president of Tuskegee University, delves into religious thought by one of the most significant African American thinkers on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge at Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall. The Provost’s Lecture, “The Role of Higher Education in the Religious Transformation of W.E.B. Du Bois and Implications for the 21st-Century Academy,” is free and open to the public.
“I had the good fortune of knowing Brian as a young scholar,” says Mark Sargent, Westmont provost, “and have watched his career soar since then. As a new president, Dr. Johnson has a profound opportunity to shape the future of historically black colleges and universities.”
Johnson has a long record of distinguished service in higher education with interests in faith, philanthropy, literature and the African American experience. He has written and edited seven scholarly books, including “W.E.B. Du Bois: Toward Agnosticism” and “Du Bois on Reform: Periodical-Based Leadership for African Americans.” He earned a doctorate in American literature from the University of South Carolina at Columbia and a master’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“I also look forward to conversations with Dr. Johnson about how Christian colleges and historically black colleges and universities might collaborate and learn from one another, and I know Dr. Johnson will bring considerable enthusiasm to his discussions with us,” Sargent says.