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Alberta Johnson to retire and head to Arizona

By Desiree' Knight
[email protected]
Staff Writer

Dr. Alberta Johnson, a psychology professor at Georgia Highlands College, will be retiring. She has been an educator for 30 years and has been at GHC since August 1993.

Johnson attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and graduated with a double major in history and English, with a minor in French. She received her doctorate in educational psychology, specializing in early adolescence.

In addition to the 15 years at GHC, Johnson was also an educator at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Pima Community College in Tucson and the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.

Johnson has traveled abroad to the Republic of South Africa, England, Scotland, Russia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea and China. "I think it is very important for students to see and experience other cultures. They can really bring a lot away from studying abroad," she said. Johnson strongly encourages students to take every advantage and seek every opportunity they can to travel and study abroad.

As the National Past-President of Psi Beta, an honor society for psychology majors, Johnson has helped raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina and helped create a Child Abuse Prevention Display at Mount Berry Square Mall. Johnson helped create the first chapter of Psi Beta, not only on the Georgia Highlands campus, but the first chapter in the state.

Johnson is also a breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, she had an experimental bone marrow transplant at the University of Arkansas before she moved to Rome.

Johnson has enjoyed teaching at GHC because of the family atmosphere among the faculty. "The best part about being an educator is seeing students who have low expectations of themselves grow and excel in the classroom," stated Johnson.

She plans to retire to Arizona and work with teens and parents with the Sierra Club. She plans to teach part-time and continue her volunteer work.