Michael L. Jackson has been vice president for Student Affairs and professor of higher education in the USC Rossier School of Education for the past 16 years at the University of Southern California (USC). Prior to his arrival at USC, he served as dean of students at Stanford University.
At USC, he and his colleagues in Student Affairs are responsible for programs and co-curricular learning and developmental opportunities that enrich the experience for students outside the classroom. He has also overseen the construction of several residential colleges, the Ronald Tutor Campus Center and large scale fundraising programs to support these projects.
He is a commissioner of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), the agency that oversees accreditation of all institutions of higher education in California, Hawaii and other Pacific basin territories. In 2004, he was appointed by Governor Gray Davis as a public member of the California Educational Facilities Authority, the state agency that oversees the approval of bonds for private colleges and universities.
He is a former president of NASPA and was awarded the foundation’s Scott Goodnight Award for service as a dean. He is the author of numerous articles on higher education and has been the principal investigator for a number of large federal and private foundation grants to support and promote the academic success of minority students.
He received his B.S. in anthropology, with distinction, from Stanford University and his master’s and doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
