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“Even though I was accepted at other universities, in my spirit, I felt this is where I was supposed to go. Kent State had support systems that impressed me. It had everything I needed to succeed.”

Vanessa Dianna Johnson, ’79, M.Ed. ’81, Ed.D., has a passion for student mental health, cultural understanding and service learning that spans her career as an educator and researcher. She is currently an associate professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at Northeastern University, where she has taught for 26 years and impacted countless students.

Growing up in Cleveland as the oldest of 10 children, Vanessa always had a strong desire to learn and see the world. She was the first in her family to attend college, and she credits her mother, the work of the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement and the overall infrastructure of 5X���� for helping to create an environment where students like her could thrive in higher education.

“I grew up in a time when everything was in place for a first-generation student to matriculate,” Vanessa said.

She wanted to pursue a career in broadcast journalism, and as soon as she set foot on the Kent Campus, she knew she was in the right place.

“Even though I was accepted at other universities, in my spirit, I felt this is where I was supposed to go,” she said. “Kent State had support systems that impressed me. It had everything I needed to succeed.”

After receiving a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from Kent State in 1979, her focus shifted to education. Vanessa went on to obtain a master’s degree in higher education administration and student personnel services at Kent State in 1981 before achieving a Doctor of Education in student personnel administration from Western Michigan University.

“I’ve always been interested in making a difference, and I see education as the great equalizer,” she explained. “Education provides a path to academic, social and cultural uplift, and higher education does this best.”

Vanessa has taught and studied a wide variety of topics, including college student development, mental health counseling, understanding culture and diversity, the impact of childhood adversity on college attainment, relationships in college, mental health in Black America and Ghana, college student activism, the Black Power Movement’s impact on higher education, education in Ghana, and health systems, healthcare and health education in Ghana.

“She is an outstanding teacher who brings her own world experiences to her courses,” said William Sanchez, Ph.D., retired associate professor, Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University. “She is very student centered and concerned about the well-being of her students, in addition to their capacity to stretch themselves and learn.”

Each year, Vanessa leads global education courses in Ghana, a country that has grown close to her heart. Among those taking part in this opportunity are students entering healthcare professions, including students who are pre-med or majoring in nursing, pharmaceutical sciences and physical therapy. A central goal is to help these students build cultural competencies that will better prepare them to understand and serve their future patients.

During this experience, students develop an appreciation for the ways in which culture can impact a patient’s approach to health and well-being, while gaining perspective on how to navigate cultural situations. They also learn about the effects of colonialism and slavery, and their continued impact on the Ghanaian people and Black Americans.

“In Ghana, traditional and orthodox medicine coexist with one another,” Vanessa explained. “During this experience, students learn to appreciate that there is no one way to do things.”

Service learning is an important aspect of this global education experience. Students have assisted with healthcare screenings, built computer labs for schools and taught classes on dental and personal hygiene to local students.

“This service learning trip has been pivotal to student learning and has expanded the department’s reach,” Sanchez said. “Vanessa has been instrumental in connecting students to the history and culture there, as well as bringing needed school supplies and healthcare items to Ghana.”

Each year, Vanessa and her students collect these donated items and bring them to the local villagers. In 2023, she was enstooled as Queen Mother of Development for the Bonwire Village in Ghana in recognition of her service to the community.