A glimpse into the inaugural year of Jackson’s leadership as Dean and MSU Research Foundation Professor
By Lauren Knapp
NOTE: This story references the tragedy that occurred on Michigan State University’s campus on February 13, 2023. MSU offers the Employee Assistance Program for faculty and staff or the Counseling and Psychiatric Services for students.
True to being part of an educational institution, Michigan State University College of Education Dean Jerlando F. L. Jackson’s career at MSU starts with a test.
Along with members of the Office of the Dean, Jackson took a test identifying individual strengths to help illuminate how he could support others, and vice versa. Among other characteristics, Jackson is observant, data-driven, inquisitive, future-oriented and open-minded.
This mirrors a theme Jackson established in his first days as dean, which began July 1, 2022. Jackson promised to spend his first year “listening, learning and leading – in that order.”
LISTENING
You only need to take a glance at Jackson’s calendar to understand his commitment to listening.
He dedicated a large swath of time in his inaugural year to participating in meetings, being introduced to members of the Spartan community and beginning to understand their contribution to the greater whole.
A few examples: He met with many faculty, staff and students within Erickson Hall and IM Circle, the two buildings home to the College of Education. He met with alumni, donors, local school districts, and partner organizations. He attended events1 and listened to discussions about new and forthcoming ideas within the college.
“Two leadership qualities I appreciate are his strong listening skills and thoughtful questions to better understand in an effort to provide guidance and support,” says Eric L. Sturdy Jr., senior director of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations (ODAR) team.
Sturdy had been on hand for several occasions with Jackson,2 such as the beginning of a new series with the college. In collaboration with ODAR and the MSU College of Natural Science, Jackson twice co-hosted a series featuring scholars showcasing their research and impact on the community and world with donors of the college. The nationwide series is continuing, with more university partners and new scholars, in areas such as Detroit, Michigan; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco, California.
“I want to talk to as many people in our ecosystem as possible,” Jackson says. “Our college is vast. We’re all over campus, the state and the nation.”
He also listens for — and seizes — opportunities.
During the annual meeting of the Spencer Foundation Deans’ Alliance, a light bulb went off for Jackson.
In this meeting with other deans of highly regarded colleges of education, a key component of the new vision of the MSU College of Education emerged.
At the conclusion of two days of deliberations and discussions about long-standing challenges in education across the world, one dean commented: “This has been a wonderful discussion, but none of us can move the needle on the challenges, except Michigan State University.”
Jackson was caught off guard, then he looked around the room and realized many of the colleges represented do not have undergraduates, or the size, scale and scope to produce enough educators, leaders and health professionals to respond to the challenges discussed.
At MSU, the possibilities are endless.
LEARNING
“Let me try that!”
Jackson often showcases his enthusiasm for research and the ways it is changing the landscape of our world.
Take, for example, several tours of Erickson Hall and IM Circle. He goes through the buildings on a somewhat regular basis to get to know the community he leads and to better understand the work that is being done.
These tours usually take much longer than expected, because Jackson asks questions. A lot of them.
His innate curiosity means he’s genuinely interested in the answer. And it sometimes means testing things out first-hand. Jackson has been known to try out equipment found in research laboratories.
This characteristically generates even more questions.
“Dean Jackson showed interest in our data and was quick to learn about kinesiology,” says Panteleimon “Paddy” Ekkekakis, chair of the Department of Kinesiology.
Jackson and Ekkekakis started at MSU at relatively the same time in 2022 (July and August, respectively), and both learned about the college and the university together. They were quick to see areas of improvement needed within the department and imagine ways to address the challenges.
“He has made Kinesiology a top priority,” Ekkekakis says. “He has communicated about our department to [MSU leadership]. His advocacy on behalf of Kinesiology first led to a visit by interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko in 2022 and a visit by the MSU Board of Trustees and the entire university administrative leadership team in 2023.”
The latter tour was the first-ever college department tour by the MSU Board of Trustees.
LEADING
Many across the college echo the same sentiments about Jackson.
“He asks good, important questions. He wants to know about purpose, impact and audience framed around the MSU community,” says Terry Flennaugh, interim associate dean of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Jackson appointed Flennaugh in 2022.3 “He also smartly recognizes the wealth of resources and expertise here.”
Jackson is keen on harnessing the college’s collective community.
“Everyone in this college has shared knowledge about this college and institution,” he says. “Everyone wants to ensure we are successful. The question I am asking to help move us forward: Can we move the college where we think it can go? This isn’t just about my leadership – this is about facilitating an aligned vision and trajectory.”
There are a variety of ways Jackson is working toward this cohesion.
- He implemented a monthly KINnectED Coffee Hour in March 2023, to create a dedicated college-wide gathering and learning time and to drink coffee. (If a peppermint mocha is not available, Jackson takes his coffee with two creams and two sugars.)
- He continued regular virtual town halls, now called InformED, in which university leaders share expertise with the college.
- He also continued biannual college-wide meetings, now called SupportED, in which college leaders share updates, celebrate milestones and promotions and welcome hires.
If it seems like there is a theme, you’re not wrong.
Jackson is introducing a suite of ED-titled initiatives to enhance the lives of college employees and to share about the college with others. Part of this offering is ExplorED, a showcase series welcoming leaders — most with ties to the college — to talk about critical challenges in education, health and well-being. ReviewED, launched in August 2023, is a monthly email newsletter sharing research news, grant updates and alumni accolades. And coming soon: IngrainED, a video series with stories of alumni who are active in their communities.
Initiatives are expanding across the college beyond the ED series.
Along with Flennaugh, Jackson co-established the Trauma in Our Lives, Schools, and in Homes Series. These virtual webinars, first offered in 2023, are a way the college is broadening efforts to support educators, health professionals and families near and far.
“The series recommits ourselves [the college] to developing the next generations of educators and kinesiology professionals who are equipped with the tools to advance racial equity and justice,” Jackson says.
RESEARCHING
In addition to becoming a Spartan and a dean, Jackson also established a lab, the Organizational Disparities Laboratory (ODL), and produced several research publications. Broadly, his work in ODL examines glass ceiling effects and hiring practices, employment disparities and workplace discrimination.
In 2023, to date, he is listed as the first author on a journal article and co-wrote a book chapter.4
REFLECTING
Jackson also took time to reflect.
In November 2022, MSU started a presidential transition. Jackson is part of the presidential search committee and collaborates in discussions on how to move the university forward.
Yet, the shift was a reminder change can be guided by history. Jackson often collaborated with Dean Emeritus Robert E. Floden and former Interim Dean Ann E. Austin. Both had decades-long tenures in the college and for Jackson – who came to MSU from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after 22 years – their reflections on the college’s history were, and are, invaluable.
In February 2023, Michigan State University was devastated by a tragedy. Jackson and others joined college- and university-wide efforts to gather as a community, to grieve and remember.
“There was an enormous amount of outreach and an outpour of care,” recalls Jackson. “MSU matters. People care about our institution and the people within it.”
Among the many things that will continue in Jackson’s memory, the feeling of the Spartan community coming together will resonate for many years to come.
AND NOW …
In the second year of his deanship, Jackson is ever looking to the horizon.
“We’re poised to continue to be the preeminent voice in research and a strong partner in solving key issues in our core areas of expertise,” he says. “Our history sets the vision for the future of our college.”
MSU, then known as the Michigan Agricultural College, began offering physical education courses (the precursor to today’s Kinesiology programs) in 1899 and education courses in 1902. That history includes long-rooted efforts in what Jackson calls “doing the work.”
In other words, Spartans Will.
For more than a century, MSU Spartans have been dreaming of improving education, health and well-being for all. But it isn’t just postulating how to do so, it is rolling up the sleeves and ensuring it happens, it continues to happen and, critically, is continually reexamined to see how it can be improved further.
It is what led the college community to create the first drafts of the college’s strategic plan. And it’s something Jackson reaffirmed by sharing a slightly modified version of the strategic plan in May 2023.5 It highlights expertise, or excellence, areas the college will pursue. It also shows common threads, or cross-cutting principles.
As it always has done, and always will, the MSU College of Education will:
- Center learners and learning
- Foster democracy and civic engagement
- Enact authentic partnerships
- Promote equity
- Stimulate innovation
It is all anchored by a vision statement Jackson hopes will propel the college in the coming years: We endeavor to be the preeminent model for a College of Education at a land-grant institution.
“We have an obligation to impact every home in the state of Michigan. If we take our world-class work, our strong partnerships, the strength of the university and we find ways to improve the lives of our citizens, that makes us the preeminent model,” he says. MSU was the inaugural institution named a Land-Grant University in 1862.
“We want to be the very best of what we were designed to be.”
He can’t share all the details – yet – but the visions of what Jackson is trying to build at Michigan State University, and what he hopes to do in support of education, health and well-being are nothing short of transformative.
As an interview for this article was concluding, Jackson sat forward in his seat, rubbed his hands together, smiled.
“Are you ready? This is going to be good.”
If year one is any indication, the world is in for a treat.
Spartans Will.
To begin the 2023-2024 academic year, Jackson participated in the college’s welcome video:
- Not including athletic events. Jackson is a season ticket holder for MSU football and aims to obtain season tickets for basketball.
- Jackson and Sturdy met for a 2022 seasonal greeting presented by the college, in which Jackson answers questions about his life and goals as dean.
- Though Jackson has not officially served on the hiring committee, he has overseen the hiring process for more than 20 roles across campus. This includes Flennaugh’s position; Kui Xie as the chair of the Department of Counseling, Education and Special Education; and a newly created role to enact the college’s emerging strategic plan.
- Jackson, Jerlando F. L., Charleston, LaVar J., Adserias, Ryan P. & Kam, Jihye. (2023) “African American Males’ Attitudes Toward the Scientific Workforce: Implications for Educational and Occupational Decision Making Toward STEM.” Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 29(5), 23-46. DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2023043270
Lor, N. and Jackson, Jerlando F. L. (2023) “African American Faculty and Administrators in Higher Education: From Recruitment to Retention.” In The Racial Crisis in American Higher Education. SUNY Press.
- Learn more about the college’s strategic plan.