2010201520202025 |
2009 Married husband, Todd |
2011 Son, Ruger, was born
2014 Earned doctorate from WVU
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2015 Named Faculty of the Year at WVU Parkersburg
2018 Became dean of WVU Parkersburg
2019 Became vice president of institutional advancement at WVU Parkersburg
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2022 Became interim president of WVU Parkersburg
2023 Became president of WVU Parkersburg
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This role is deeply personal for Jackson.
“ Being a student at WVU Parkersburg, experiencing it as a first-generation college graduate, understanding its importance to the community and then later being selected to lead the institution will always be my greatest professional achievement,” she says.
Along with parents who taught her the value of hard work, teachers were some of Jackson’ s earliest mentors, and mentorship is just one of the ways she gives back.
“ I mentor in many ways, and not everyone I mentor is younger than me,” she says.“ Sometimes mentoring happens across and even upward. In my current role, I’ ve chosen mentors. I’ ve simply told them they’ re my mentors because they have skills I want to learn from.”
Jackson says expanding educational opportunities for others feels essential to her purpose. She has contributed as a member and president of the Ritchie County Board of Education and is actively serving as the president-elect of the West Virginia School Board Association, where she will assume the presidency in July.
Jackson is also a member of the Wood County Economic Development Authority, Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport Economic Development Committee, Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley and West Virginia Community and Technical College Advisory Committee. She serves as a board member for the Discovery World on Market, WVU Medicine Camden Clark and National Association of Community Colleges for
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Entrepreneurship, along with involvement in her local church and basketball league.
“ For me, community service is about filling gaps,” she says.“ If a void exists, I believe in stepping forward. Communities thrive when people work together, and I want West Virginia to thrive.”
This commitment to West Virginia comes from a place of gratitude.
“ I don’ t want to leave the place that built me,” Jackson says.“ I want to make it better for future generations.”
Jackson shares her rural home with her husband, Todd, and three sons, Creed, Heath and Ruger, and she attributes much of her success to their love and support.
“ They make me better,” she says.“ They test every quality I try to embody and push me to be patient, persistent and grounded. They may not care that I’ m a college president, but they care that I show up, and that matters most.”
A consummate planner, Jackson is guided by the phrase,“ You have to see the vision, not the reality.”
“ We can get stuck in what is if we don’ t imagine what could be,” she says.“ I don’ t just think inside or outside the box. I like to dance on the box until it’ s smashed.”
Her vision for WVU Parkersburg and the Mountain State is focused on economic growth.
“ I believe a community college can be the ecosystem that drives growth,” she says.“ We are making strides, but real transformation takes years. I’ m committed to watching that story unfold and helping write it.” •
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