Michele H. Jackson will be recommended as dean of Michigan State University’s Lyman Briggs College.
If approved by the MSU Board of Trustees, the appointment will be effective June 22. She will serve as dean designee beginning June 15.
Jackson is currently the associate provost for the Office of University eLearning Initiatives at the College of William and Mary, as well as an associate professor in the Department of Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership in the School of Education.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Jackson to MSU as the next dean of Lyman Briggs College,” said MSU Provost June Pierce Youatt. “Dr. Jackson is an innovator in learning and teaching and brings with her a strong understanding of the unique mission of LBC. Her enthusiasm for the future of the college will benefit not only the LBC community, but the broader MSU community as well.”
Jackson has served at William and Mary since 2015, where she has led collaborative, campus-wide conversations to establish the vision and strategies for e-learning, which integrates technology into education.
Prior to that, she held a variety of roles at the University of Colorado from 2008 to 2015, including the founding director of the Arts and Sciences Support of Education through Technology program and the chair of the Department of Communication.
Jackson is a higher education innovator with more than 20 years of experience in building and leading high-impact, flexible and sustainable programs with an emphasis on collaboration.
She earned her Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Minnesota in 1994.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Jackson joining us at MSU and bringing her unique background of creating innovative academic programs and integrating new technologies into learning practices to our university,” said Interim President John Engler. “Bridging humanities and science is the core of this college, and Dr. Jackson is a strong collaborator who will allow the college to continue flourishing. We welcome her to MSU.”
Jackson succeeds Elizabeth Simmons, who left her position in September to serve as executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of California San Diego. Currently, Mark Largent is serving as interim dean for the college.
"Lyman Briggs College offers a truly remarkable experience for MSU students, made possible by talented and dedicated faculty, staff and advisors,” said Jackson. “The work of bridging the sciences and humanities is more important than ever. I am honored by the opportunity to serve the college as its next dean."