Alumna Tammi Jackson Named Meredith College Vice President
Jackson learned early on about the value of higher education and understanding finance
Sacred Heart University alumna Tammi Jackson ’95 MBA is the new vice president for business and finance at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., a private women’s college with a coeducational graduate school.
Jackson was selected for the post from more than 60 applicants and nominees nationwide, according to the Meredith College website. “Jackson emerged as the top candidate, with an extensive background in higher education finance and administration,” the website states. “She has a track record of negotiating better financing terms for the institutions she has served. She has also successfully implemented short- and long-term financial plans, overseen major construction projects and provided leadership and direction for human resources, technology services, business services and facilities management areas.”
Her previous experience includes serving as deputy general counsel for fiscal and risk management and compliance for the National Bar Association and as vice president for finance and administration for Dominican University of California, Goucher College and Mills College, a noted women’s college in California, according to Meredith’s website. “In these roles, she has earned a reputation as an astute financial professional, excellent communicator, transparent collaborator and effective manager,” the website states.
In Jackson’s new position, she is responsible for strengthening Meredith College’s financial sustainability. “I make sure we are being great stewards of the funds we have, whether they are from students or donors,” Jackson said. She also will ensure the school has a robust technology infrastructure and that the facilities, some of which are more than 100 years old, remain in peak condition.
Jackson believes a college should provide students a fulfilling educational experience. “If that’s our shared goal as educators and administrators, then we’re all marching to the same beat,” she said. “I want to help this next generation of women be at the table. The beauty of Meredith is our focus on social justice and civic engagement. We are teaching future leaders.”
After graduating from the University of Connecticut in 1993, Jackson was working at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford when she learned about SHU’s master’s degree in business administration (MBA) program. Her mentor had just completed the program and recommended it to Jackson. “Not everybody had an MBA at the time, and I was looking for something to make myself stand out. My mentor told me it was a fantastic program I could complete while working, and I could use my experience from outside the classroom in the classroom,” Jackson said.
“What I loved about Sacred Heart’s MBA program was that it was truly hands-on. It wasn’t about regurgitating what I read. I used the material I studied to create my own project, and then I presented my findings to the class. In my current and past roles, I’ve made countless presentations. At SHU, I gained experience that I still use to this day, such as collaborating with colleagues from different backgrounds, working with a team and using communication and writing skills. Becoming a critical thinker also has helped me in every position I’ve held. If you are looking for a rigorous program that is going to enhance your skills, with professors who truly care, then SHU is the place for you,” she said.
Jackson’s experience at Sacred Heart also prepared her to continue her educational journey, studying law at the University of Maryland in 2000 and later earning her doctorate in education at the University of Pennsylvania. Jackson dedicated her doctoral dissertation, “An Exploration of Relationships Among Funding, Poverty and College Matriculation for School Districts in North Carolina,” to her father. He grew up in St. Croix with few educational opportunities, so he emphasized to his children the importance of learning.
“My dad didn’t give us money for doing chores; he gave us money to buy books. He was always pressing higher education. He instilled in us from a very young age the value of a higher education, because that’s something that nobody can ever take away from you. And truthfully, as an African-American woman, I needed to create as many ways as I could to differentiate myself from the crowd,” Jackson said.
She remembers having an affinity for finance even when she was young, saving her money to buy a $26 Cinderella watch. In eighth grade at a Bridgeport parochial school, the teacher one day separated the girls from the boys, sending the girls to learn how to balance a checkbook and manage a household, and the boys to learn about the stock market. Jackson asked the teacher if they were going to switch places so she could learn about the stock market, too. The teacher responded, “No, that’s for boys.”
“I don’t know if I was more upset because she said that, or because when the boys picked the right stock, they got a king-size candy bar. I didn’t get anything for balancing my checkbook,” Jackson said with a laugh. “But that was when my dad told me to never let anyone tell me I couldn’t learn something.”
She carried that philosophy forward. When her high school’s accounting program was discontinued, she got a job at the Bridgeport Public Library and spent as much time as she could in the business section. “Anything that I could get my hands on to read and learn, I was reading.”
She also credits her father for teaching her how to manage money, recalling that he would say, “If you have any debt, you pay off your past while you save for your future.” Now she will share her money-management skills in a Meredith program that teaches students how to strengthen their personal finances for future success.
Jackson believes education and hard work are key to achievement, but she said courtesy, respect and professionalism also are important. “It really is all about treating others the way you want to be treated. Make sure you have integrity in what you do and that your word has value. And you always want your work to reflect who you are,” she said.
Portrait of Tammi Jackson by Charlotte McKinney, Meredith College