McCeil Johnson, JD

Vice President, Accreditation & Regulatory Compliance

University of Phoenix

As University of Phoenix’s Vice President, Accreditation & Regulatory Compliance, McCeil Johnson provides leadership and management of the University of Phoenix’s college-specific accreditation and regulatory initiatives including institutional, programmatic, state boards and other regulatory functions. McCeil has over 20 years of experience working in higher education.

Her management style is transparent, collaborative, and interactive, and throughout her career, she has prioritized understanding and enhancing organizational structure and institutional culture.

McCeil brings her expertise and experience to areas of professional focus including diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the universities she has served; fundraising activities related to the creation of a scholarship fund for university women; security and crisis management; shared governance related to the development of operational transparency and collaborative communication models; mediation and conflict resolution as related to both the student body and university faculty members.

McCeil is active in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging work, and is recognized as a leader and subject matter expert speaker. McCeil was recently selected by University Professional and Continuing Education Association, UPCEA®, the association for college and university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, to serve on the UPCEA Board of Directors’ Diversity & Inclusive Excellence Committee for a one-year term. She was appointed in fall 2021 to the University of Iowa College of Law Alumni Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council, and this fall was elected to serve as Vice Chair of the Council. McCeil has been serving as a speaker on the Women in Automotive circuit since March 2021, giving presentations and guidance on how women can empower themselves and their voices in a male-dominated industry.

In 2022, Johnson was selected to participate in the Black Leadership Academy Management Accelerator offered by McKinsey & Company, a six-month program helping participants enhance functional organizational knowledge, develop a leadership mindset, expand their cross-industry peer network, and providing safe space and time to reflect and share perspectives on personal journeys as a Black leader in the world today. She has completed McKinsey & Company Badges A2E Business Fundamentals, Business Strategy, and Problem Solving.

Committed to professional integrity and growth, Johnson is a member of numerous professional associations in addition to UPCEA, including Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA); Council on Higher Education (CHEA); Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE); University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA); Higher Learning Commission, Peer Review Corps (HLC Peer Reviewer); and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC).

From 2014 to 2016, McCeil served as the Chief Compliance Officer & Vice President of Compliance for Southern New Hampshire University, where she led the evaluation and assessment of internal policies and promoted adherence to all applicable federal, and state laws, and regulations. In addition, she also provided strategic vision and guidance in effectuating effective risk-management and mitigation. From 2003 through 2014, McCeil served as the Chief Legal Officer & Executive Director of Legal Affairs at National Louis University in Chicago. There she worked closely with the University President and its Board of Trustees in the provision of legal updates in myriad practice areas, including: labor and employment, business matters, contract review, litigation, copyright, information technology, property acquisitions, student and faculty issues and institutional compliance.

McCeil pursued her desire for knowledge and scholarship at the University of Iowa where she earned a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts, and in 1999, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law.