Pamela E. Scott-Johnson, Ph.D., began her tenure at Monmouth University as provost/senior vice president for academic affairs and professor of psychology on Aug. 9, 2021. Her appointment follows a comprehensive
national search process.
Before joining Monmouth, Scott-Johnson served as the dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences at
California State University, Los Angeles, since 2016. She led the largest college at the university, including
more than 150 faculty members in 12 departments serving nearly 6,000 undergraduate and 500 graduate
students. Recognized as one of the nation’s most innovative institutions of higher education, the university
earned a #1 ranking for upward mobility from The New York Times. During her tenure at Cal State LA, Scott-
Johnson focused on establishing beneficial corporate and community partnerships.
Prior to joining Cal State LA, Scott-Johnson spent nearly 15 years at Morgan State University, Baltimore,
serving as the interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts, as chair of the department of psychology, professor
of psychology, and founding director of the psychometrics graduate program. Before joining Morgan State, she
spent 10 years as a faculty member at Spelman College, Atlanta, where she earned tenure.
Prior to beginning her work in higher education three decades ago, Scott-Johnson worked for nearly nine years in the corporate sector as a senior research scientist for Kraft General Foods, where she was an expert on
taste and smell.
She is a dedicated scholar who believes the role of administrators is to empower the educational enterprise
through student-centered curricula and faculty-oriented research and pedagogy. Scott-Johnson has published widely in professional journals and has been principal investigator for a large number of research program development grants, totaling more than $6 million. Her research interests include eating disorders, body image and sensory systems, as well as preparing more minority students for the
psychology pipeline.
She has also participated in funded research examining factors that contribute to the success of women in
STEM fields and the academy. Her professional affiliations include serving on the board of directors of the
American Psychological Association, and as a member of the Council of College of Arts and Sciences, and the
American Association of Colleges and Universities. She is an alumna of Higher Education Resource Services
(HERS), and the American Psychological Association Leadership Institute for Women.
Scott-Johnson earned master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology and neuroscience from Princeton
University, Princeton, New Jersey, and a bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) in psychology from Spelman
College, where she was inducted into Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology.
