James S. Jackson (1944 – September 1, 2020) was an American social psychologist and the Daniel Katz Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Jackson was also a member of the

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President of the United States, president and the United ...

and a past president of the

Association of Black Psychologists Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

. He studied the psychology of race and culture and the impact of racial disparities on minority health.

Biography

Early life

Jackson was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

with the intention of becoming an engineer, but he found himself interested in psychology after being exposed to an introductory course on the subject. Jackson was president of his school's

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

chapter and he made friends with civil rights leader Robert L. Green through the fraternity. His friendship with Green introduced him to civil rights figures, including

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

and

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...

, and to other notable people, including

Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (; born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975, declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 to 1971. He i ...

Career

After completing a master's degree at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

, Jackson entered doctoral study in psychology at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. He became an early member of the Black Student Psychological Association, an affiliate of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

(APA). He was part of a group that disrupted the APA presidential address of

George Armitage Miller George Armitage Miller (February 3, 1920 – July 22, 2012) was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of cognitive psychology, and more broadly, of cognitive science. He also contributed to the birth of psycholinguistics. Miller ...

in order to bring attention to the needs of black psychology students. When he finished his Ph.D., he became the 1972–1973 president of the

. Jackson has become known for his studies of race relations and disparities in minority health. He led the National Survey of American Life: Coping with Stress in the 21st Century (NSAL). Jackson was a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the

. He was named to the

in 2014. He was elected to the Electorate Nominating Committee of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(AAAS) in 2015. The same year, Jackson finished his second five-year term as director of the

University of Michigan Institute for Social Research The Institute for Social Research (ISR) is the largest academic social research and survey organization in the world, established in 1949. ISR includes more than 300 scientists from a variety of academic disciplines – including political scien ...

; he was succeeded by economist David Lam. A member of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

, Jackson has served on several National Research Council committees.

Honors

Jackson was named a Fellow of the AAAS in 2005. He received the 2006

James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award The James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award is an award of the Association for Psychological Science given since 1992. The award is named after James McKeen Cattell and "honors individuals for their lifetime of significant intellectual contributions to t ...

from the

Association for Psychological Science The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in r ...

and delivered the keynote address at the organization's annual convention in 2012. He was recognized with a 2009 Investigator Award from the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

. He became president of the

Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Founded in 1936, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) is a group of 3,000 scientists from psychology and related fields who share a common interest in research on the psychological aspects of important social and policy i ...

in 2010–2011.

Death

Jackson died on the evening of September 1, 2020, due to pancreatic cancer.

References

External links

Faculty profile
at the

Profile
on

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, James 1944 births 2020 deaths Scientists from Detroit Michigan State University alumni University of Toledo alumni Wayne State University alumni University of Michigan Department of Psychology faculty American social psychologists Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Members of the National Academy of Medicine African-American psychologists 20th-century American psychologists James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award recipients