VA Tech's Rick Johnson to Join Duke as Assistant VP

Duke University has named Rick Johnson, formerly director of housing & dining services at Virginia Tech University, as assistant vice president of housing & dining, effective January 31, 2011. It is a new position that combines dining services, housing and residence life.

"We were most fortunate to be able to recruit the best," says Duke's Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, who led the nationwide search. "Rick is a gifted leader who is committed to students and is nationally regarded for his work. There was overwhelming support from faculty, students, staff, senior administrators and others for his hire. Rarely do we see such consensus, and it was gratifying to see it for this role."

For the past 15 years at Virginia Tech, Johnson had been responsible for a residential system that houses 9,000 students and serves 18,000 dining customers. He oversaw construction and renovation of multiple residential and dining facilities on the Blacksburg, VA, campus and under his leadership, the university dining unit won numerous accolades, including Princeton Review's Best Campus Dining in 2008 and 2010.

"It's a brand new position, and a brand new challenge," Johnson says. "Grouping these units together is the perfect combination to serve students well. There are great synergies among these areas that we can use to everyone's advantage."