Dr. Larry D. Johnson, Jr. began his tenure as the seventh president of CUNY Bronx Community College (BCC) in July 2025. An accomplished educator and advocate for community colleges and their students, Dr. Johnson joins BCC after four years of innovative leadership as president of CUNY’s Guttman Community College, where he contributed to the College’s historic enrollment growth.

President Johnson has demonstrated a strong commitment to the transformative mission of community colleges throughout his career – at CUNY and in his previous posts around the country, Prior to arriving at CUNY, Johnson was a leader and faculty member at community colleges in Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Missouri.

In 2018, President Johnson became the first Black president in the 100-year history of Phoenix College.  Under his leadership, the college established a “Neighborhood College” partnership with the city government to provide educational opportunities to working adults and obtained substantial federal funding to support experiential learning programs and undergraduate research in STEM.

President Johnson began his career at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, a Predominantly Black Institution (PBI) in Clarkston, Georgia, where he served as division chair of general studies and developmental education and formed the Distinguished Gentlemen’s Club, a program that increased student retention rates. He later became associate dean for English and journalism at Broward College and moved from there to St. Louis Community College, where he served as a campus provost and chief academic officer.

President Johnson attended two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in English literature, and Clark Atlanta University, where he received a Doctor of Arts in humanities and English literature. He earned his M.A. in humanities and a graduate certificate from Florida State University. President Johnson recently completed an institute at Harvard University Extension School that centered on crisis leadership in higher education.

President Johnson serves on the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Commission on Small and Rural Colleges and is a board member of the CUNY Research Foundation, National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs and Phipps Neighborhoods. He also is an Aspen Fellow, participating in the inaugural New President’s Fellowship, and a recipient of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Paragon Award.