University of Hawaii Vice President and Provost for Academic Affairs Linda Johnsrud is leaving UH at the end of this year for a similar position at the University of Texas in Austin.

The news was announced in a UH email sent out this afternoon.

Johnsrud has been at the university for 25 years, starting as an assistant professor of higher education administration and moving her way up the ladder, including positions as chair of the UH Manoa Faculty Senate and interim chancellor at UH West Oahu. She’s held her current position since 2005. 

Johnsrud said she’s taking the job at UT because her daughter and granddaughters live in Texas.

“I love Hawaii, I love the university, and I cannot believe that it has been 25 years. The University of Hawaii has been very good to me. I work with so many top-notch professionals. I’m not sure which makes it more difficult to leave – the place or the people,” she said.

UH will be appointing an interim VP to fill Johnsrud’s position while it conducts an open search for her successor. 

Photo: Linda Johnsrud (University of Hawaii)

— Alia Wong