Starting in 2013, retired General Ronald Johnson will serve as both Managing Director of Tech’s Tennenbaum Institute and as Professor of the Practice for Industrial Systems and Engineering (ISyE).
As the Tennenbaum Institute’s Managing Director, Johnson will supervise work in large scale enterprise transformation, process changes for manufacturing and information technology. He also hopes to bring more business and revenue into the Tennenbaum Institute.
“[Tech] has all of the talent in the world, but the Tennenbaum Institute has to be worth their while,” Johnson said.
Eventually, he hopes that companies from all over the world will question and consult the Institute first before making a major manufacturing or processing changes.
The former NBA’s Senior Vice President of Referee Operations will also serve as Professor of the Practice of Tech’s ISyE program. He will oversee and manage ISyE’s Senior Design teams by helping them work on potential team dynamic issues that may arise during the semester.
Johnson hopes to teach his students about leadership, teamwork and most importantly ethics, stating that “engineering without ethics is a pretty dangerous thing.”
Johnson, who served in the Army for 32 years, is most looking forward to working with Tech students in his new position.
He has taught before at both West Point, his alma mater, and the University of New York, and expects to be “especially impressed” by Tech students. He is looking forward to the “energy” in a university environment like Tech with so many opportunities.
In addition to his positions, Johnson, who received a Master’s degree in ISyE from Tech, also plans to earn his Ph.D from Tech, although he wants to prioritize his work as Managing Director of the Tennenbaum Institute.
Johnson has already had a significant impact on the Tech community. He has served on the President’s Advisory and is currently a Trustee in the Georgia Tech Foundation. Johnson has three scholarships in his name, two of which are endowed. As well as this, Room 242 of the Stu- dent Center is named after him. Johnson wants to give back to Tech, but he is unsure whether he can ever “repay for what Tech has given [him].”