Biography

Dr. Steven L. Johnson
President and CEO

Dr. Johnson is in his 23rd year as Sinclair’s President. During his presidency, the college has experienced extraordinary improvement in student success rates, and a remarkable expansion of access to include several new learning centers across the region, including campuses in Centerville and Mason, Ohio.

Sinclair is now the second largest community college in Ohio and, in the last 10 years, has awarded more credentials than any other Ohio 2-year college. Sinclair Community College, a member of the League for Innovation, was recently named a U.S. Top 25 Community College by the Aspen Institute’s 2027 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

Sinclair’s most recent strategic initiative focuses on advancing student success, workforce readiness, and AI-driven innovation. Sinclair, through its National UAS Training and Certification Center, is the first ever academic institution to acquire BETA products, which will enable the college to offer unparalleled academic and workforce education, familiarization training, and research experiences.

Sinclair Community College and SNC, the global aerospace and defense company, recently announced the “SNC-Sinclair Academy,” establishing the Dayton region’s first employer co-designed aviation workforce pipeline. The partnership aims to create a sustainable stream of production-ready aerospace and aviation maintenance technicians.

This reflects Sinclair’s commitment to advancing the future of aviation and establishing Ohio’s position in the industry by creating access and opportunities to workforce training with electric aviation technologies and newly developed programs.

Sinclair has no debt and continuously receives the highest financial ratings among all of Ohio’s universities and colleges. With 2,500 full-and part-time employees and $173 million in annual operations, Sinclair is among the 15 largest employers in the Dayton region and has repeatedly been voted by its employees as a “Best Place to Work.”

Dr. Johnson is a Dayton regional Leader of the Year; among the Leaders of the Decade; and named one of the “12 Most Influential People” of the Dayton Region. He has also been honored as Humanitarian of the Year by the National Conference for Community and Justice. He was most recently honored with the Region of Honor Award by The Presidents Club of Dayton. Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas-Austin.