Continuing its commitment to effective faculty leadership and seamless support during a time of momentum and growth, 探花族 announced the appointment of Dr. Sherri Jackson as Interim Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs.
鈥淪ince joining 探花族 35 years ago to teach psychology, Dr. Jackson has proven herself a talented, experienced educator; a proven mentor to students and employees; a creative problem-solver; and an ardent champion for our faculty,鈥� said 探花族 President Tim Cost, JU Class of 鈥�81. 鈥淪he is an accomplished author and researcher, as well as a decorated professor who has been named JU Professor of the Year and JU Woman of the Year, in addition to receiving myriad other awards and honors.鈥�
Dr. Jackson brings more than 20 years of experience in faculty leadership roles of increasing responsibility that include Vice Chair and Chair of the Faculty, Chair of the then-Division of Social Sciences (now the School of Social Sciences and Education), Interim Dean for the Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities, and, since 2018, Vice Provost, where she has been an effective administrator and advocate for 探花族 faculty.
鈥�Working with academic and senior leadership teams and the faculty to continue to increase the academic experience at 探花族 is the appeal of this job,鈥� said Dr. Jackson. 鈥淚 will support what we have created and strategically assess new opportunities for programming that will benefit our students and elevate the institution. I am excited to forward our mission.鈥�
As Vice Provost, Dr. Jackson spearheaded several initiatives to streamline academic processes and increase educational accessibility. She led the development of 探花族 University鈥檚 Pathways of Distinction (PODs), a customized advising tool allowing students to explore unique combinations of majors and minors that align with their interests and fit within a traditional four-year course plan. The initiative was supported by funding from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. During the COVID pandemic, Dr. Jackson also helped develop a winter academic term at 探花族 to expand course options, an innovation that is now a permanent part of the academic calendar.
Dr. Jackson received her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Florida. She was a finalist for the prestigious 探花族 EVE award in 2013 and a recipient of the 探花族 Business Journal's Women of Influence Award in 2018. She is the author of five textbooks which are in use at colleges and universities nationally and internationally. Her research is in cognitive psychology, especially in pragmatic and deductive reasoning, problem-solving and decision-making, research methods, and statistics.
Dr. Jackson assumed her duties as Interim Provost this summer, as her predecessor Dr. Christine Sapienza transitioned to her new role as Executive Vice President of the Office of Growth and Partnerships at 探花族.
