Johnstons take on ENMU with gusto

When James and Stephanie Johnston moved from Wichita Falls, Texas, to Portales in December of 2022, they saw the "Welcome to Portales" billboard announcing our community as "home of 17,000 friendly people (and three or four old grouches)."

There's only one problem, the Johnstons said. They insist they've yet to meet a single one of those old grouches.

Rather, James Johnston said, "Everyone, to a person, has been so welcoming."

This gregarious husband/wife duo made the move to the area when James Johnston was hired as the 12th president and third chancellor of the system for Eastern New Mexico University, succeeding Patrice Caldwell who retired in early January.

Johnston and Stephanie - the first lady of the system -- began duties on the Portales campus a few days over seven months ago.

'We both signed on for this'

I spent an evening with them last week at the University House on the north side of campus, the spacious dwelling that serves as home for ENMU's top administrator as well as a regular site for gatherings and events.

They share their home with an enthusiastic Texas heeler named Poe, who by all indications hoped I had come by for a game of Frisbee.

"We joke that we live on campus ... because we live on campus," Johnston said, with a nod to the non-stop roster of responsibilities and activities that comes with the job.

"We both signed on for this," Johnston said. "This is the happiest we have been anywhere in our married life. I think we are the happiest we have ever been because we found the right fit."

The rest is history

Prior to Eastern, Johnston had been at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls since 2003, where he held multiple leadership positions.

Stephanie had her own career as a mammography radiologist (she's passionate about the work she did and hopes to encourage others to follow in her footsteps). She's set that aside for the position she sees as "extending the office of the president."

They happily divide and conquer at social events, putting their heads together later to debrief and share experiences.

While Johnston grew up in Slaton, Texas, and New Mexico native Stephanie hails from Las Cruces, they met in Florida at a national radiologic technology governance meeting, Johnston said. His professional background began in radiology, and they were each delegates to the convention from their respective states.

It wasn't until later after both had gone through divorces that "we became friends," Johnston said, "and the rest is history."

A good fit

The Johnstons share four adult children and 10 grandchildren, a clan that they said they actually gathered for the first time in its entirety when Johnston was inaugurated in a festive Cinco de Mayo-themed celebration at ENMU on May 5.

Besides bringing Stephanie home to New Mexico, the move to Portales puts the couple geographically in the middle of scattered family members, and brings both Johnstons back to a community they had visited as teenagers.

As a high school kid in Slaton – a community less than half the size of Portales – Johnston said he'd occasionally make the trek to take in the brighter lights of our big city.

Stephanie, on the other hand, regularly passed through these parts from her home in Las Cruces on the way to visit friends and family members in the Texas Panhandle.

"I knew there was a university here, but I had never seen it," Stephanie said. "I didn't know how big ENMU was or how beautiful, and I had never heard of Blackwater Draw."

Johnston said when he began looking for a new position last year, he focused his search on regional comprehensive universities, with the goal of finding a school that felt like a good fit for both him and the institution.

He believes he's found that here, and he's eager to help Eastern grow and also help strengthen the connections between the university and the community.

A 'yes' everywhere

"One of the unique opportunities here is to have a university this size in a community this size," he said. "There is so much we can do together because of our respective sizes. I want for Portales to take full advantage of what it means to be a college town."

He is appreciative of the warm reception he's had so far.

"Every time I have asked to partner with anyone in the community, it's been 'yes' everywhere," Johnston said. "The people here reflect how and where we grew up."

Helping students cross the stage

When it comes to recruiting new ENMU students, it would be hard to find better stories than those already lived by James and Stephanie Johnston.

Johnston was a first-generation college student in his family, after growing up as one of nine children on a cotton farm. He jokes that he learned patience from having to share the one bathroom with five ... FIVE ... sisters.

"College was really not in my plan until the end of my sophomore year of high school," he said. "My history teacher and basketball coach Keith Gast asked me about it and my reply was something to the effect of 'I can't go to college' to which he said, 'Son, you have to go to college.'"

Gast didn't stop there.

"He introduced me to Upward Bound, helped me apply, etc.," Johnston said. "It was through him and Upward Bound at Texas Tech that I was introduced to college, shown how I could get there, and got me across the graduation stage that first time.

"That is a big part of why I do this work today," he said, "showing others who started where I did that college is possible and helping them to cross that stage."

Quite the juggle

Both of Stephanie's parents were college graduates, but "it was not a guarantee for me," she said. "I was in my 30s with three children before I was able to further my education. I began in community college in the radiologic sciences program.

"I also stumbled upon the 2 + 2 program at New Mexico State University," she said, a program that encourages students to complete two years at a community college before moving to their final two years at a four-year institution.

After finding that program, "I began the necessary classes to complete that degree (a bachelor's) concurrently with my associate's," Stephanie said. "As you can imagine, it was quite a juggle to balance school and home. Our stories are a big part of the reality we feel we can share with potential ENMU students."

How it begins

The Johnstons also bring to the table a shared enjoyment of the everyday encounters with local residents, whether it be at a football game or the grocery store, which is good since the towering Johnston couldn't hide in a crowd if he wanted to.

"I'm 6'6"," Johnston said. "Even if my personality allowed, I couldn't blend in. I just tell people don't be offended if I don't remember your name."

The couple arrived midway in the basketball season and were soon regulars at games in Greyhound Arena, with plenty of opportunities to make new friends.

"I love talking to people," Stephanie said. "At our fourth or fifth basketball game, a man asked me, 'Do you ever get tired of talking to people? I said, 'No.' He said, 'You can tell.'"

Settled in now at the house on Cherry Street, the Johnstons are looking forward to all of the "firsts" still to come as they begin their first fall semester at Eastern – their first Dawg Days, their first homecoming, and a first "Rally on Main" event planned for downtown Portales at the end of September, to name a few.

Johnston took over at the helm smack dab in the middle of the last academic year, an experience he compares to "starting in the middle of a good novel.

"We know how it ends," he said, "but now we get to find out how it begins."

Betty Williamson wishes all of the Greyhounds (and a Texas heeler named Poe) a great fall semester. Reach her at:

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