Ruth Ray Jackson is an American academic administrator serving as the seventeenth president of

Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost four-year public HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Lan ...

since 2024. She was previously its interim president, vice president of academic affairs, and a professor and dean of the school of education and behavioral sciences.

Life

Jackson earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education and English and a master's degree in educational leadership and administration from

Southern University and A&M College Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in ...

. She completed a Ph.D. in education and human resource management at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

. Jackson was a public school teacher and administrator in Louisiana. She later worked at

Louisiana State University Shreveport Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSU Shreveport or LSUS) is a public university in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System. Initially, a two-year college, LSUS has expanded into a university with 25 u ...

for eleven years. She was an associate professor of education, director of the master of education program, and chaired the education department. In 2014, she joined

as a professor and dean of the school of education and behavioral sciences. In 2018, she was promoted to associate vice president for student success. For one year, she served as the vice president of academic affairs before working as the interim president for one year. In 2024, she became its seventeenth president.

References

Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Southern University alumni Colorado State University alumni Louisiana State University Shreveport faculty Presidents of Langston University Schoolteachers from Louisiana 21st-century American women academics 21st-century American academics African-American women academic administrators American women academic administrators African-American academic administrators 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American educators Women heads of universities and colleges Women deans (academic) Education school deans American university and college faculty deans African-American schoolteachers {{US-academic-administrator-stub