Theodore W. Johnson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) within their Aviation Institute. Dr. Johnson earned his Doctorate in Public Administration with specializations in public transportation and aviation and nonprofit management from UNO in December 2023. He is a first-generation graduate and the first Black American to graduate from UNO with specializations in public transportation and aviation at the graduate level. 

Prior to completing his doctorate, Dr. Johnson was a two-time graduate of Eastern Michigan University (EMU), earning a Master of Public Administration in April 2020 and a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management in 2017. Dr. Johnson worked as a full-time instructor for UNO for three years prior to his appointment as an Assistant Professor. While at EMU, he worked full-time as the Aircraft Dispatch Director, Lecturer, and Graduate Assistant within their Aviation Department. In these capacities he assisted the Aviation Department Director in helping EMU’s aviation program become accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International, routinely met with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspectors to ensure regulatory compliance, and engaged in a multitude of outreach efforts to various underserved school districts. 

Recently, Dr. Johnson completed his tenure as one of four Samya Rose Stumo National Air Grant Fellows in the inaugural fellowship program, which required him to work for both the FAA and in a congressional office on Capitol Hill where he served as a Subject Matter Expert on aviation/aerospace issues. His research interests centralize social, racial, and educational equity, and inclusion with especial emphasis on the recruitment/retention of racial minorities to advance equity and promote opportunities in traditionally underrepresented fields such as aviation/aerospace. Dr. Johnson has published on social and racial equity, and some of his recent work includes phenomenological analyses of Black aviation students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs). Links to some his research can be found below:

1. Students speak: Academic, career, and sociocultural experiences of African American college students (2024)
2. Quieted Voices: A Phenomenological Analysis of Black Aviation Students (2024)
3. Book Review Women of Color in the Aviation Industry (2023)

Dr. Johnson is also extremely passionate about service and is active in numerous organizations. Currently, he serves in several roles for the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), including: Secretary, Governance Committee Co-Chair, and Membership Committee Co-Chair. He also serves as a mentor for Growing Omaha – a new mentorship initiative meant to connect BIPOC students with leaders and build their network. Additionally, Dr. Johnson is an executive member for two sections within the American Society of Public Administration: The Section on Transportation Policy & Administration and the Section on Democracy & Social Justice. 

Dr. Johnson has received a plethora of awards/honors with some of the most recent including: the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Minority Dissertation Fellowship, Samya Rose Stumo National Air Grant Fellowship, NASA Nebraska Space Grant FY23 Higher Education Mini-Grant, Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP), 2023 University Aviation Association (UAA) Aviation Policy Seminar Faculty Scholarship, 2023 University of Nebraska at Omaha Outstanding Faculty Member Award, College of Public Affairs and Community Service (CPACS) Diversity, Equity, Access, & Inclusion (DEAI) Inaugural Emerging Leader Award, and the 2023 The Jewel Prestage Trailblazer Award.