Dr. David Johnson will become the third president of Johnston Community College, the school’s trustees announced last week. On July 1, he will succeed Dr. Donald Reichard, who is retiring after 10 years as president.

“I’m extremely grateful to [trustees chair] Lyn Austin and the Board of Trustees for this vote of confidence,” said Johnson, 52. “I look forward to working with them, the faculty and staff, and the community to accomplish the mission at hand: service to our people.”

Johnson is a provost at Southside Virginia Community College in Keysville, Va. The school serves 10 counties and 8,000 students with courses in 50 locations. JCC is the 16th largest community college in North Carolina, with an enrollment of more than 20,000 students this year.

“We’d hate to lose him, but Johnston County is getting a world-class college president if they get him,” Dr. John Cavan, president of Southside, said in a phone interview during the selection process.

Johnson has 15 years of experience in Virginia community colleges. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Campbell University, a master’s in divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1984 and a doctorate in education from N.C. State.

The new president’s life is centered on service to others, he has said. “I would like to see us as the solution institution for this county,” Johnson said at a forum during the presidential search. “Think globally, serve locally.”

Johnson and his wife, Betty Lynne, have two sons: Wallace, a rising junior at Campbell University, and Isaac, a rising eighth-grader.

Johnson’s appointment is subject to approval by the State Board of Community Colleges.