Dr. Kathryn Johnson currently serves as the Director of the Confucius Institute at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. With an educational background in special education and disability advocacy in China, Dr. Johnson has worked to embed her passion into the strategic planning of the SCSU Confucius Institute. Dr. Johnson will share her stories of including and engaging persons with disabilities into the work of Confucius Institutes and Classrooms, along with NGOs, government organizations, and businesses that do work in and with China. Since her first trip to China in the summer of 2000 with Gallaudet University, Dr. Johnson has returned to China over 50 times leading delegations, teaching at partner universities, attending conferences and meetings, and always advocating for those who have unique needs in all aspects of her work. She works to live up the core value established by the SCSU Confucius Institute, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” through including and engaging persons with disabilities in all areas of the partnership with Jilin Province Education Department and National Hanban. The presentation will include life stories that highlight the challenges, the opportunities and recommendations for all Confucius Institutes/Classrooms and universities on how to become a champion in this work.

Dr. Kathryn Johnson is Director of the SCSU Confucius Institute. In this role, she has developed 7 Confucius Classrooms, including Metro Deaf School, the first and only Confucius Classroom globally that promotes Chinese sign language and culture. Dr. Johnson previously was a teacher of students who were deaf in public education. She completed her PhD at the U of MN in Comparative International Development Education. Dr. Johnson was an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education since 2005 prior to assuming the role as the Director of the SCSU Confucius Institute in 2014.