T-L Photos/CARRI GRAHAM Congressman Bill Johnson speaks at the JobsOhio public board meeting in Cadiz on Monday afternoon.

YOUNGSTOWN — Amid a stream of boos from those in attendance at Tuesday’s special board of trustees meeting, the Youngstown State University board voted 8-1 to hire U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson as the university’s next president.

The vote mirrored the board of trustees’ vote of 8-1 Thursday to begin negotiations on a contract to hire the congressman as the university’s 10th president — a move that since then has drawn objections and criticism from employees, alumni and students.

Board member Molly Seals was the lone ‘no’ vote in both instances.

The board’s decision to offer Johnson, R-Marietta, the job was met in past days with opposition that included a protest held Monday on campus. Both faculty and student organizations have issued petitions and resolutions opposing the move, citing a lack of transparency, Johnson’s lack of experience in academia and his far-right stance in Congress.

Johnson, 69, who was approached to seek the job, never has worked in higher education. He holds his master’s degree in computer science from Georgia Tech and Bachelor of Science degree, also in computer science, from Troy University in Alabama. After 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 1999 as a lieutenant colonel, Johnson owned a couple of information technology consulting firms and served from 2006 to 2010 as chief information officer for Stoneridge Inc., which brought him to Ohio. He was first elected to Congress in November 2010.

Trustees on Tuesday convened at 2 p.m. and then entered executive session that lasted for about an hour before emerging to take the vote.