Dr. Jackson is a professor and chair of the Department of Retailing and Tourism Management in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE). She also serves as the director of faculty diversity and inclusion for CAFE.    

Currently, her research focuses on women of color and the barriers they must overcome in academic leadership roles as well as soft skill development for student competitiveness in entry level positions in human sciences.

As an instructor, Dr. Jackson seeks to nurture transformative education for the leaders of tomorrow by providing support for experiential learning and study abroad. This includes spear-heading a collaborative effort by faculty to develop a successful online master’s degree in retailing and tourism management.

During her time at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Jackson has worked with the Office of Diversity in CAFE to create and implement a mentoring program for faculty. She has also worked to develop a four-module course on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the classroom. 

We greatly appreciate Dr. Jackson’s willingness to serve as acting associate vice president/associate provost for diverse faculty success. In this role, we are confident that she will help advance a diverse and inclusive environment for all the university’s academic areas. She possesses the necessary experience in developing effective DEI initiatives for faculty and has proven to be a strong, collaborative leader with a commitment to inclusive excellence, quality, exceptional service, productivity and continuous improvement. 

Research

• Soft Skills Development
• Women in Leadership