David H Jackson Jr.

David H. Jackson Jr., Ph.D., served as provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024.

Previously, Dr. Jackson served as associate provost for Graduate Education and dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Research, and Continuing Education at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, Fla., a position he held from 2015 until his appointment at NCCU in 2021. While serving in the role, he grew enrollment and increased graduation rates, improved the admissions process, and worked to expand graduate and professional student funding.

He began his academic career at FAMU in 1997 with his appointment as assistant professor of history. Shortly after, he was promoted to associate professor and full professor and was later elected chairman of the Department of History, Political Science, Public Administration, Geography and African American Studies at FAMU. Throughout his time at FAMU, Dr. Jackson has earned many awards and distinctions, including the Rattler Pride Award for Community Leadership, the Advanced Teacher of the Year Award, Teacher of the Year twice, and the FAMU Research Excellence Award. In 2012, he was named one of the “Outstanding Alumni of the Quasquicentennial” and is part of the Gallery of Distinction in the College of Arts and Sciences at the university.  Additionally, in 2014, Dr. Jackson received the Equity Award from the American Historical Association, the largest historical association in the country.

Dr. Jackson has published over four dozen scholarly articles, book chapters, short essays, and book reviews, and has presented over 100 scholarly papers and speeches at professional conferences, universities, public schools and other venues throughout the United States. He is recognized as one of FAMU’s most published professors and is author or editor of six scholarly books. Additionally, he was a 2017 Fulbright-Hays Fellow and studied in Botswana and Namibia. He has visited seven countries on the continent of Africa over the course of his professorial career.

Dr. Jackson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in history education and a Master of Applied Social Sciences degree in public administration, both from FAMU, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in history at the University of Memphis. In addition, Dr. Jackson completed the Management Development Program at Harvard University and was selected as an American Council on Education Fellow, as part of its 2017–2018 class, and completed his fellowship at the University of Houston.