About the Dean of the College
Judy "J.J." Jackson was appointed Dean of the College in 2004. A broad array of Vassar departments report to the Dean of the College and provide many services, including academic and career advising, off-campus study, health and disability services, multicultural services, campus activities, equal opportunity and affirmative action, student employment, religious and spiritual life, campus dining, and campus security.
Prior to coming to Vassar, J.J. was Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at New York University, where she worked as a member of the University Leadership Team, with a special charge to advance a wide range of diversity initiatives, including student retention, academic engagement, and strengthening links to global programs.
From 2000 to 2002 she served as the Executive Assistant to the President and Clerk of the Corporation at Babson College, Babson Park, Massachusetts. In that capacity she oversaw budgets, worked closely with the board of trustees, and assisted with the implementation of a new governance structure. She also provided senior-level leadership for the president's diversity goals.
During 11 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she held several positions. The first was Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs and Director of Minority Education. She then served as an ombudsman in the President's Office, completing her service at MIT as Special Advisor to the Provost on Faculty Diversity. Prior to MIT, J.J. spent four years at Cornell University, where she was named Assistant Dean for Advising, Counseling and Minority Programs in the College of Engineering. She began her administrative career at Bucknell University, where from 1981-1985 she was Advisor to Minority and Foreign Students. Prior to that, she taught Freshman Writing in the English Department at Susquehanna University.
J.J. received her doctorate in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy, with a concentration in higher education, from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. A native of Robersonville, N.C., she has a B.A. Degree in French Language and Literature from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, and an interdepartmental Master's degree in Francophone African Literature, Geography, and Foreign Policy from Bucknell University.