DR . EDISON O. JACKSON
Dr. Edison O. Jackson, President of Medgar Evers College of The City University of New York since, September 1, 1989, was born in Heathsville, Virginia. He received the Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology, the Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Howard University, and the Doctorate in Education from Rutgers University with academic emphasis on the philosophy, function, role and administration of urban educational institutions.

After serving for four years as a Senior Counselor/Instructor at Federal City College, in 1969 Dr. Jackson assumed the position of Dean of Student Affairs at Essex County College in New Jersey. Promoted to Vice President for Student Affairs, he was soon appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of Essex County College in September of 1983. During his tenure at Essex, he also served on the adjunct graduate faculty at Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey. In 1985, Dr. Jackson accepted the challenge to lead Compton Community College in Compton, California, assuming the position of President/Superintendent, remaining there until his assumption of the presidency of Medgar Evers College of The City University of New York in 1989.

Dr. Jackson holds membership in a number of civic, educational and community organizations, among them the Crown Heights Coalition; The Catholic Interracial Council of New York, Inc.; the Board of Directors of The Prospect Park Alliance; the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Children's Museum; the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Academy of Music; the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Museum; the Board of Overseers of the New York University Graduate Program; the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bridge Street Development Corporation; the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Sports Foundation; the Board of Directors of the Primary Care Development Corporation; the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn  Prospect Park Coalition; and, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, appointed by Mayor Bloomberg. Among his professional affiliations are the American Association of Higher Education; the American Association of College Deans and Advisors of Students; the National Association of University Personnel; the National Association of Black College Presidents and Chancellors; the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges; the National Alliance of Black School Educators; the American Personnel and Guidance Association; the American College Personnel Association; and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Jackson has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO); the President's Round Table; the National Council on Crime and Delinquency; a Mentor in the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Millennium Leadership Institute; and, has served two four year appointments to the Commission on Educational Credit and Credentials of the American Council on Education. Dr. Jackson is also a member of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Personnel Committee and the Urban and Metropolitan Mission Focus Group, a Steering Committee of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Jackson was among a select group of presidents and chancellors of higher education institutions invited by Secretary of Education William Riley to participate in a September 1999 summit on raising the quality of teacher preparation and improving the quality of teacher education. Dr. Jackson is a past Vice President of the Association of State Colleges and Universities of the State of New York (ACUSNY) and a former Director of the American Council on Education. He has served as a member of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges. He has served as chair and/or member of more than thirty (30) accreditation evaluation teams for the Commission on Higher Education Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Dr. Jackson served the New York City Central Board of Education as the Brooklyn Representative.

Dr. Jackson has written extensively on issues of concern to educators with particular concentration on minority students and the community, academic preparation and student performance. Among the publications in which his work has been featured are: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Black Issues in Higher Education , July, 1989; Federal Probation, Can College Make Better Correctional Officers? , 1973; ERIC Clearinghouse, Student Characteristics Report, 1975; with Robert L. McMillan, 1975; ERIC Clearinghouse, Study of Attrition: Non-returning Students for 1975-76 , with Robert L. McMillan, 1976; ERIC Clearinghouse, Essex County College Academic Preparation: Transfer Student's Perspective , with J. Scott Drakulich, 1977; ERIC Clearinghouse, Enrollment Profile and Grade Analysis for 1974-75 Freshman Class , with Robert L. McMillan, 1977. Other publications include: Essex County College: Dynamics of Governance - The Decision-Making Process of a Public Education Institution , Dissertation, 1983; In Relentless Pursuit of Excellence , Medgar Evers College Press, 1992; Educating Our Students for A New World Order , Medgar Evers College Press, 1992; A Crucial Agenda: Making Colleges and Universities Work Better for Minority Students ; and, Religion, Education, and the American Experience: Reflections on Religion and American Public Life, College President As Spiritual Leader , University of Alabama Press, 2002.  Dr. Jackson is currently working on a book that documents the role of spiritual leadership in higher education, and secular institutions. Dr. Jackson has had the privilege to present his work internationally, at the University of Guyana, the University of Sierra Leone, and at the Oxford University Roundtable.  

Among the publications in which Dr. Jackson has been featured are: The Chronicle of Higher Education, A College Leader Relishes Role of Local Peacemaker, 1991; Black Issues in Higher Education, Community Colleges Seen as Offering a Secure Future, 1991; Ebony Magazine, The New Wave of College Presidents: The Men and Women of the Class of 1984-1991 Face a Broad Range of Challenges, 1991; Ebony Magazine Blacks in New York , June 2002; and, Jet Magazine feature, December 2003. He is also featured regularly on "Education and Perspectives," a weekly one-hour television program produced by Medgar Evers College for WNYE Channel 25 in New York City.

Edison O. Jackson has been the recipient of numerous awards for service. Among them: The New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service Award, 1992; the New York State Governor's Award for African-Americans of Distinction, 1993; The Pan-Hellenic Council of New York, Inc. Community Service Award, 1993; The Rutgers University Distinguished Service Award, 1993; The New York Chapter American Jewish Committee Community Relations Award, 1993; the New York Association of Black Psychologists Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award, 1993; the Howard University Alumni Club of New York Alumni Recognition Award, 1993; the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Community Service Award, 1996; the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute for Children, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award, 1995; the New York Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators Education Award, 1995; the Medgar Evers College Community Council Leadership Award, 1995; the Grenadian-American Ex-Student Association Leadership Award, 1995; the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Faith Educational Leadership Award, 1999; Congressman Ed Towns' Community Award, 2000; the Prospect Park Alliance Community Service Award, 2000; and the Church Women United in Brooklyn, Inc. Education Award, 2000, the Greater New York Chapters of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Scholarship Award, 2002; the Strathmore’s Who’s Who award for Leadership and Achievement, 2002; the New York Governor’s Tribute to African American Leaders of Excellence in State Service Award, 2002; the 107th US Congressional Record for Outstanding Citizenship, 2002; the YMCA Lifetime Community Service Award, 2004; the Grand Marshall for the Caribbean Day Parade, 2004; the NYS Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, Inc. Thomas S. Boyland Award, 2004; and, the Caribbean Images Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Leadership Award, 2005.

Dr. Jackson is an ordained minister who serves on the ministerial staff of Bridge Street African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church.  Residing in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, Dr. Jackson is married to Florence E. Jackson. Dr. and Mrs. Jackson are the proud parents of two children, and one granddaughter.