Arrick Jackson brings success record to IU Northwest

Chicago Tribune

6 days ago

Fueled by a 5-shot hazelnut Starbucks latte, Indiana University Northwest Chancellor Arrick Jackson settles into his new campus office as a fresh set of challenges await him as the leader at Gary's regional Indiana University campus.
Although he just arrived July 1, Jackson, 56, is mindful of his mission to continue the university's enrollment of about 3,000 students on an upward trajectory.
When she appointed Jackson as IU Northwest's ninth chancellor in March, IU President Pamela Whitten stressed his record of success in leadership and focus on student retention.
The task comes at a time when GOP state leaders have frozen tuition, set enrollment quotas on degree programs, and revamped the high school diploma standards.
The newly minted diploma places a greater emphasis on classes leading students directly into employment, instead of courses that prepare them for college.
It all comes as the state continues its downward college enrollment spiral. A new state report said 51.7% of 2023 high school graduates headed to college after high school, a new low. The college-going rate in 2008 was 66%.
Jackson came to IU Northwest from Minnesota where he served as provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs at Minnesota State University-Moorhead.
He's aware of the challenges ahead at the regional campus, a cornerstone of Gary's Glen Park neighborhood along Broadway.
'We'll face challenges on enrollment. We'll face challenges on different legislation that impacts us and makes us go in one direction or another. We'll continue to face challenges with budgets,' he said.
While he's still getting acclimated, Jackson remains positive about IU Northwest.
'I have a very strong team, I know that,' said Jackson. 'I'm focused on the environment and how we can continue to improve on the work that's been done.'
Jackson was one of four finalists for the chancellor job. He succeeds Ken Iwama who served from 2020 to 2024 when he became IU vice president for regional campuses and online education.
'IU Northwest has a strong history of excellence, and Arrick's experience and track record promise to continue that tradition,' said Iwama, in a release.
Jackson's background and experiences are likely as varied as many of his new students.
A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Jackson lost his mother when he was an infant and his father died when he was 9.
His stepmother, Frances, raised Jackson and his four brothers and sister.
'She's still in my life now, she's my mother,' he said of the woman who infused the importance of education in his family. All his siblings have a master's degree or higher.
His youngest child, Karlee Jackson, is beginning her freshman year at the University of Connecticut. A son is in the Air Force and another son works in a management job in Massachusetts.
At 18, Jackson joined the Army, where he spent three years in field artillery and three years in military intelligence.
'I spent a lot of time with squirrels during artillery training,' he said.
After the service, he earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. He received his master's and doctorate degrees from Washington State University in criminal justice and political science.
In Michigan, he served in an education administrative and human services role at Ferris State University in Big Rapids.
While vice president of community and industry education services for the Tarrant County College District in Texas, he created a high school fire academy to create a pipeline to a community experiencing a shortage.
He said about 10 of the program's graduates found immediate employment in the Arlington Fire Department. Each graduate's starting salary was $50,000, so they would be in a better position to attend college later, he said.
Jackson comes to Indiana soon after GOP Gov. Mike Braun rolled back diversity, equity, inclusion rules across state agencies including universities. It matches similar initiatives President Donald Trump has ordered at the federal level.
'When federal laws and regulations come down, we have to be compliant,' Jackson said. 'We still have a mission to provide quality education. About 65% of IU Northwest's enrollment are students of color.
Although DEI services remain a plank in IU's strategic plan, the university has closed its DEI offices in response to Braun's order.
Jackson believes higher education is fundamental to democracy.
'The world is changing and higher education is part of that world and needs to keep up with that,' citing the advent of artificial intelligence and other new technologies.
For Jackson though, his coffee habit is unchanged.
'I have to have my five shots a day,' he said of his espresso drink.