The College of Liberal and Performing Arts at Southern Arkansas University has chosen Dr. Ben Johnson as its new dean.
Johnson, a native West Texan, began his position with Southern Arkansas University in 2001 as a professor of history. In addition to teaching, Johnson is also an author. One of his books, “John Barleycorn Must Die”, published in 2005, studied the history of alcohol in Arkansas. From September 2003 to September 2005 Johnson was the guest curator for “John Barleycorn Must Die: The War Against Drink in Arkansas,” an exhibit in the Old State House Museum in Little Rock.
Johnson, who replaces Dr. David Crouse as interim dean of the College of Liberal and Performing Arts at SAU, chose Arkansas history to be the one course he will retain along with his duties as dean. Engaging the student’s interest in their own state is something he sees as very important. “It is helpful for students to understand that history does not only occur in distant and exotic places. Ancient history is not confined to Egypt and Mesopotamia. Ancient history happened here, ancient people were here where we now walk,” Johnson said. “There is a rich and diverse history in this state and its right here at your doorstep.”
Johnson is vice president of the Arkansas Historical Association and serves on the State Review Board of the Arkansas Historic preservation Program. He is also on the board of editors of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly. He has served as the chair of the board of directors of the Arkansas Humanities Council, president of the Arkansas Association of College History Teachers, and on the board of directors of the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives.
Johnson received the 2003-2004 Southern Arkansas University Faculty Excellence Award for Research. The dean earned graduate degrees in English and history from Texas A&M University in Commerce before receiving the Ph.D. in history from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1991. He taught history at South Arkansas Community College from 1979 until 2001.
Johnson is married to Sherrel Johnson, who graduated from Southern Arkansas University with a degree in political science. The Johnson’s are the parents of Dr. Jason Ellen who practices optometry in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both Ellen and his wife Rona Ellen are SAU alumni. They have two children, Drake Anderson Ellen and Lucas Doyle Ellen.
