Pamela E. Scott-Johnson, Ph.D., C’82

Biography

In June 2023, Pamela E. Scott-Johnson, Ph.D., C’82, was appointed as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Spelman. Prior to returning to Spelman, she served as the provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. From 2016-2022, she served as the dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences at the California State University Los Angeles. From 2013-2016, she served as the interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts. She is the former chairperson and professor of psychology and founding director of the Psychometrics Graduate Program at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Scott-Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and graduated magna cum laude from Spelman in 1982, and an Master of Arts and Doctorate in Psychology and Neuroscience from Princeton University in 1984 and 1989, respectfully. Dr. Scott-Johnson is a committed administrator, teacher and scholar. Her role as an administrator has been to empower the educational enterprise through student-centered curricula and faculty-oriented research and pedagogy/andragogy. Dr. Scott-Johnson has published widely in professional journals and has been principle investigator for a large number of research and program development grants, totaling more than $6 million.

As a dean, she raised more than $3 million dollars in funding and through philanthropy. 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 had funding that allowed her to examine factors that contribute to the success of women in STEM fields and the academy. Her memberships include the American Psychological Association (Committee on Animal Research and Ethics (CARE); Divisions 1, 2, 5, & 8), Association of Heads of Psychology Departments (Board of Directors, 2007-2008), Project Kaleidoscope (National Advisory Board)/ Faculty for the 21st Century, Council of College of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association of Colleges and Universities. She chaired the Committee on Animal Research and Ethics (CARE).

In 2016, she was elected to the Board of Directors (BOD) of the American Psychological Association, and was the liaison to the Membership Committee, the Finance Committee, the Committee on Divisions and APA Relations, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce, the Ethics Committee, and Ethics Taskforce. She is an alumna of the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS), and the American Psychological Association Women’s Leadership Institute.

Her community services include membership on the Social Action Committee and the Physical and Mental Health Committees of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. (Monmouth County Alumnae Chapter); the Governance Committee and MLK Breakfast Committee (co-chair) on Board of Trustees for the YMCA of Greater County; and stewardship committee chair and Eucharistic lay reader in the Episcopal Church, specifically St. James Episcopal Church Bradley Beach, New Jersey.

Dr. Scott-Johnson has been an active Spelman alumna with memberships in the National Alumnae Association, Los Angeles Chapter of the NAASC; and the Baltimore Chapter of the NAASC.