Dr. Ronald Angelo Johnson Named Mellon Distinguished Scholar in Residence

The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) recently named Dr. Ronald Angelo Johnson as 2026-2027 Mellon Distinguished Scholar in Residence, a key leadership role in the social and academic life of the fellowship cohort at AAS, according to Vice President for Academic and Public Programs, Nan Wolverton. 

“In addition to conducting their own primary research,” says Wolverton, “the Distinguished Scholar in Residence serves as a critical mentor to early-career scholars who hold fellowships at the Society. Dr. Johnson was chosen for this invited position based on his leadership skills and his ability to engage meaningfully with emerging scholars as well as with faculty and researchers at all career stages. Dr. Johnson held a one-month Kate B. and Hall J. Peterson Fellowship in 2024. During that time, it became clear based on his skill sets and his engaging personality that he would make a ‘super star’ DSR! We are delighted to have him with us as the 2026-27 Mellon Distinguished Scholar in Residence.”

Founded in 1812 and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the American Antiquarian Society houses the world’s largest collection of books and manuscripts printed before the twentieth century in what is now the United States. 

“One of the reasons I am so excited to be the DSR for the year is the grand opportunity to research and read through AAS's collection of books printed in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, before the colony declared independence as the nation of Haiti in 1804,” says Johnson. 

Johnson will spend the 2026-2027 academic year in Worcester, working on his research topic titled, “Diplomacy & Constitutions in the Early United States and Haiti.”

“The project will advance my latest book manuscript, We Are All Equal: Turmoil and Triumph in the Early United States and Revolutionary Haiti (under contract with Princeton University Press), a diplomatic history of race and revolution, illustrating that Americans and Haitians shared important understandings of liberty,” says Johnson. “The book spans the relationship between the US and Haiti between 1785 and 1805 to illustrate that both countries--influencing each other--were born of revolution, depended upon diplomacy, and valued the necessity of a written constitution in a republic. One thing I hope readers take away from We Are All Equal is that the early US and Haiti had much more in common than a present-day observer of the two nations might imagine.”

Johnson has also been invited to conduct research at the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston and the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, as well as to give research talks at nearby institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania, Clark University, and Brown University. 

For Johnson, this fellowship is an alignment of his scholarship and his faith.

“Being named the Mellon Distinguished Scholar in Residence is a reflection of God's grace in my life,” says Johnson. “Every morning I awake here, I thank God for a once-in-an-academic-career opportunity to spend the year more fully immersed in research and writing. It means the world to me to have Ned and Gloria Johnson's youngest child on the celebrated list of previous DSRs, including mentors Alan Taylor, Gabrielle Foreman, and Greg Nobles. I am proud to see Baylor University considered alongside preeminent R1 institutions like Columbia, Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, Penn State, and the University of Michigan. I pray that my research project honors the legacy of Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Bessie Mae Lynn, situating the Lynn Chair with some of the nation's more prestigious endowed chairs in History, including the Draper Chair at the University of Connecticut, the Knight Chair at Yale, and the Thomas Jefferson Chair at the University of Virginia. I would not be here without God's grace, the love and support of my family, and encouragement from my Baylor colleagues and administration.”

Congratulations, Dr. Johnson, on this momentous achievement!