Rebecca L. Johnson

Rebecca L. Johnson (born 1955) is an American natural resource economist and academic administrator serving as the interim president of Linfield University since 2023. Her research focuses on the economic valuation of non-market natural resources, including recreation, wildlife, and biodiversity. She was the interim president of Oregon State University from 2021 to 2022 and served as the vice president of Oregon State University–Cascades from 2008 to 2022.

Early life and education Johnson was born in 1955 in Madison, Wisconsin, where she was raised. Her family vacationed at a lake cabin in northern Wisconsin, which contributed to her early interest in natural resources.

She pursued graduate studies at Michigan State University, earning a M.S. in agricultural economics in 1981 and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics with minors in resource economics, policy analysis, and quantitative methods in 1985. She served during the 2021 to 2022 academic year and was succeeded by Jayathi Murthy. After leaving OSU, she was named interim president of Linfield University in December 2023, succeeding Miles K. Davis.