David Jackson named University of Nebraska associate vice president for academic affairs

David Jackson, Ph.D., a 25-year veteran of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who has served in a number of faculty and administrative roles, has been named associate vice president for academic affairs for the University of Nebraska. Jackson’s appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2015.

Jackson currently serves as associate dean and associate director of UNL’s Agricultural Research Division, a position he has held since 2008. In that role, Jackson manages a portfolio of critical research related to agriculture, forestry and animal health; helps build capacity for research in agriculture, nutrition, natural resources and families; and coordinates academic programs and reviews for units related to the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, among other duties. Since 2001, Jackson has also been a professor in the UNL Department of Food Science and Technology; from 2004 to 2006 he also served as interim head of the department.

Jackson’s research interests include corn and sorghum grain quality characterization, processing chemistry and optimization, entrepreneurial food processing business development in Africa, and starch polymer chemistry. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Cornell University Department of Food Science, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Texas A&M University Department of Soil & Crop Sciences.

In his new role, Jackson will participate in a wide range of initiatives affecting academic programs on all four University of Nebraska campuses. He will work with the provost to provide leadership for multi-campus academic initiatives, identify strategic research opportunities, build interdisciplinary collaborations between the campuses, organize the review of new graduate programs and faculty proposals for research and teaching support, and work with senior campus administrators, faculty, policymakers, industry partners and other external groups to advance NU research.

Susan Fritz, University of Nebraska executive vice president and provost, said: “David has a long, distinguished record of service to the university. All four of our system’s campuses will benefit from the depth of his teaching and research experience.”

Archie Clutter, dean and director of the UNL Agricultural Research Division, said a search for Jackson’s successor at the division will begin immediately.