Republican Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson announced he was stepping down Tuesday to become president of Youngstown State University (YSU) in Ohio.
The Board of Trustees voted to offer Johnson the position of president and authorized the university to begin contract negotiations on Thursday, according to a YSU press release. Johnson announced he was retiring after serving in office since January 2011 representing Ohio’s 6th Congressional District.
“After much thought and prayerful deliberation, I have accepted the offer to lead Youngstown State University and will not be seeking an 8th term in Congress,” Johnson tweeted.
Students and faculty petitioned against the move to instill Johnson as president and booed his approval Tuesday night at the Board of Trustees meeting, according to WFMJ, an Ohio-based outlet. The petition against him has nearly 2,000 signatures, and calls Johnson “an extremist politician” and lays out a litany of political grievances.
“Youngstown State is an educational university. It’s not a political institution. We’re here to educate people, not indoctrinate them, not politicize them,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday following the decision, according to WFMJ.
“Everybody’s got their hair on fire because they think I’m going to bring my politics here, but if everybody else is allowed to bring their politics and ideology here and I’m not, how is that fair? I think everybody needs to leave their politics and their ideologies at home and let’s focus on creating opportunities for our students where they could dream big,” Johnson said, according to WFMJ.
YSU and Johnson did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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