By Jackie Torok
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities has chosen Tonya Smith-Jackson, Ph.D., provost and executive vice chancellor of Academic Affairs at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, among the 30 exceptional higher education leaders to its 2022 Academy for New Provosts (ANP).
ANP is a leadership development program, now in its third year, geared toward the distinctive needs of provosts who lead state colleges and universities. It serves as an opportunity for newly appointed provosts to connect with their state university peers in an environment tailored to the specific challenges a first-time provost is likely to face.
Smith-Jackson, a research engineer with extensive academic leadership experience, was named last month to serve permanently in her current role, which she held on an interim basis since the start of this year.
The 2022 Academy for New Provosts will include monthly virtual learning and networking sessions and an in-person gathering on Oct. 25-27 in Washington, D.C. ANP is made possible in part by generous support from AASCU strategic partner Ad Astra.
āI am proud to welcome the third class of outstanding leaders to ANP,ā said Terry Brown, vice president for academic innovation and transformation at AASCU. āAs these newly appointed provosts and chief academic officers begin navigating the challenges and complexities of their roles, AASCU is committed to providing the specialized expertise, guidance, and support they need to succeed.ā
ANP will prepare the 30 new provosts participating in this yearās program to manage university finances and budget; understand the principles of exemplary academic leadership and change management; build trust through effective communication; manage key relationships for success; use data effectively to create a culture of evidence and inform decisions; integrate academic planning with budget, facility, and IT planning; navigate between the presidentās or chancellorās vision and faculty expectations; and strengthen psychological and physical resilience.
Smith-Jackson originally joined A&T in 2013 as a professor and chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and founder/director of the Human Factors Analytics Laboratory. She went on to serve as founder and co-director of the Cyber-Human Analytics Research for the Internet-of-Things Laboratory, director of the Center for Advanced Studies in Identity Sciences and graduate program director for Industrial and Systems Engineering.
In 2018, Smith-Jackson served at the National Science Foundation for a year as program director of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate in the Cyber-Human Systems Program before returning to A&T in the role of interim director for the Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity, Research, Education and Outreach.
Smith-Jackson then went on to serve as A&Tās senior vice provost for Academic Affairs. During her time in that role, Gov. Roy Cooper named her to the Governorās Advisory Committee on Performance Management in 2021, a year after he appointed her to the North Carolina Department of Commerceās Board of Science, Technology and Innovation.
Smith-Jackson earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and M.S. in interdisciplinary psychology/ergonomics and industrial engineering and Ph.D. in psychology/ergonomics from North Carolina State University.
She received the 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Society International in recognition and appreciation of her achievements, contributions, dedication and lifelong achievement in the industrial engineering and operations management profession.
