HBCU administrator named Rutgers University-Newark chancellor
The post HBCU administrator named Rutgers University-Newark chancellor appeared first on ClutchPoints.
North Carolina A&T State University Provost and Vice Chancellor Tonya Smith-Jackson has been named the new Chancellor of Rutgers University- Newark. The Rutgers Board of Governors overwhelmingly accepted her nomination, which was jointly announced by incoming President William F. Tate IV and departing President Jonathan Holloway.
Dr. Smith-Jackson graduated from North Carolina State University with MS and PhD degrees in Psychology/Ergonomics and Interdisciplinary Industrial Engineering. She earned a BA in Psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill; and graduated from the inaugural class of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
Before becoming Chancellor, she served as Department Chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering, as interim director of a cybersecurity center; director of the Human Factors Analytics Lab and co-director of the laboratory for Cyber-Human Analytics Research for the Internet of Things (CHARIoT). She also worked as an assistant, associate, and full professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech for 14 years. In addition to teaching in universities and community colleges in North Carolina, New York, Virginia, and Germany, she was an engineer at IBM and Ericsson Mobile Communications.
Dr. Jackson describes herself as 'first-generation, low-income student.'
'My lived experience taught me that higher education was not necessarily designed for everyone,' Smith-Jackson said.
'It's our challenge to continue to reimagine and redesign these important ecosystems that we build around the learners that we serve so that everybody can be successful,' she said.
According to Rutgers, Dr. Smith-Jackson has spearheaded the development of three new doctoral programs, the first artificial intelligence bachelor's degree program in the state, and significant increases in graduate assistants and research staff at North Carolina A&T, the largest HBCU in the country. In addition, some of Dr. Smith-Jackson's recent research has been on helping formerly incarcerated individuals find employment and training in information technology. She has also written about the value of introducing undergraduates to STEM research.
Dr. Smith-Jackson's appointment with Rutgers will take effect on August 1, 2025. As part of her agreement, she will receive $515,000 annually in base pay, along with an additional $25,000 to $77,000 per year in incentive compensation, with a guaranteed minimum of $51,500 in her first year. She will also receive $30,000 annually in deferred compensation.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Transportation Sec Warns More Airport Outages Are Coming
Rolling blackouts at Newark International Airport have continued to erode confidence in America's airports, and while the Trump administration is promising that New Jersey's flight problems will soon be a thing of the past, the problems are just beginning for the rest of the nation. In an interview with MSNBC's Meet the Press Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had only more warnings for the future of America's commercial aviation industry. 'The lights are blinking, the sirens are turning.… What you see in Newark is gonna happen in other places across the country,' Duffy said, pointing to telecom and software issues at air traffic towers across the country. 'It has to be fixed.' He noted that, at least at Newark, 'we believe we can have it up and running in short order.' 'We're going to be able to fix that glitch, and we feel a little more comfortable about our primary line that gets the data in on radar,' Duffy said. Duffy also mentioned that America's airports are operating on equipment so outdated that the parts are no longer manufactured for replacements, telling host Kristen Welker that the government has to search online for alternatives. 'I'm concerned about the whole airspace. The equipment that we use, much of it we can't buy parts for new, we have to go on eBay and buy parts if one part goes down. You're dealing with really old equipment,' he said. Duffy further acknowledged that while U.S. airspace is safe, a major outage could pose a 'risk to life.' Newark has experienced several significant disruptions since late April, causing hundreds of cancellations and delays, which officials have blamed on aging infrastructure and a shortage of air traffic controllers. The shortage of air traffic controllers is nothing new, however: It's been a problem decades in the making. A large bulk of controllers retired over the last 10 years—a coincidence made possible due to the fact that the majority of the staff onboarded simultaneously as replacements for the 11,350 controllers fired by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. In 2015, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association told Congress that the situation had reached a 'crisis' level and that, at the time, the Federal Aviation Administration had missed hiring targets five years in a row. For years, the federal government has failed to properly incentivize younger generations to view the famously high-stress, high-education, and relatively antisocial job as desirable—and similar to other industries, that lapse between the aging workforce and the stalling youth is contributing to a brain drain. (To address this, Duffy also said he'd told the union that air traffic controllers will be allowed to work past the age of 56.) On top of that, the massive worker shortages have forced controllers to do double duty, for instance at Reagan International Airport, where controllers were reportedly tasked with handling both the flight paths of commercial airplanes and helicopters—work typically done by two separate controllers. 'The Congress and the country haven't paid attention to it, and they expect it to work,' Duffy told MSNBC. In February, the administration erased 400 FAA roles, including positions that supported air safety. Duffy confirmed the cuts that time, though he attempted to minimize them by highlighting the overall staffing of the agency, which he claimed employs some 45,000 workers. At the time, Duffy said he would 'supercharge' air traffic controller hiring, hoping to shave four months off the typically arduous onboarding process. But that likely wouldn't make a dent in America's air traffic staff anytime soon: It currently takes about four years to become a certified air traffic controller. Questions have emerged as to whether Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency directed the FAA cuts. But when asked directly about the issue, Duffy skirted the question. 'We were having a conversation about 'Who do we preserve',' Duffy said Sunday. 'We went back and forth, and Elon agreed; the president agreed, 'Of course you want to keep air traffic controllers.' We're trying to hire more of them. But I think the key is: Can your government be more efficient?' 'You can actually be more efficient and still accomplish the mission of safety,' Duffy told MSNBC. On Thursday, Duffy released an eight-page framework to replace America's antiquated aviation infrastructure, revealing at a press conference that the Trump administration would be investing in a 'brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world.' Unfortunately, the pitch did not mention how the agency would fund the massive technological overhaul.

Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
European travel to the US slowed down this year — but travel companies say a summer rebound is already underway
Despite political tensions and growing anti-American sentiment, US travel is holding steady among European tourists — especially when prices drop. From January to April, several major travel platforms observed a slowdown in European bookings to the US. Thomas Cook reported a dip that exceeded typical seasonal fluctuations. "We did observe a softening in bookings to the US between January and April this year — a dip that goes beyond the usual seasonal adjustments," Nicholas Smith, holidays digital director at Thomas Cook and eSky Group, told Business Insider. However, by May, things began to shift. Smith said aggressive pricing strategies, including hotel rate cuts of around 25% and deposits of just over $1, triggered an uptick in bookings. "This has, in turn, helped stimulate demand, particularly among UK travelers adept at spotting good deals," he said. "We expect this rebound to continue into the summer months." Other travel firms echoed that optimism. TravelPerk, which serves business and corporate travelers, said bookings to the US from Europe rose 1% year over year in April, while US to Europe bookings climbed by 14%. Cancellation rates remained stable at 7 to 9%. Etraveli Group, which analyzed bookings through April, found that while demand for flights from the EU to the US declined by 7%, overall trip orders to the US from Europe jumped 19.5% year over year. However, bookings to other intercontinental destinations grew even faster, up 24.3% overall, 29% for Africa, and 25% for Asia. Shorter intra-European trips surged by 29%. Tariff backlash These shifts are unfolding against a politically charged backdrop. President Donald Trump's escalating trade war, with tariffs on EU imports swinging from 20% to 10% and now potentially rising to 50%, has triggered grassroots consumer backlash across Europe. Apps like Brandsnap in the Netherlands and Detrumpify in France are helping Europeans identify US brands to avoid in supermarkets and online. In Denmark, major retailer Salling Group labelled European-made products with black star labels, while Norway's largest oil bunkering operation company, Haltbakk Bunkers, made headlines for briefly refusing to refuel US Navy ships. Meanwhile, high-profile American brands like Tesla and Coca-Cola are already seeing a fallout. Tesla's sales in Europe dropped by 46% between January and April, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, and McDonald's reported a global sales dip linked to "anti-American sentiment," especially in Northern Europe. This behavior may reflect more than a passing political reaction. In its March Consumer Expectations survey, the European Central Bank found that 44% of about 19,000 respondents preferred to switch away from US brands, regardless of tariff levels. The bank warned that this suggested a "possible long-term structural shift in consumer preferences away from US products and brands." It may not be a long-term shift French hotel giant Accor added to the concerns last month. CEO Sébastien Bazin told Bloomberg that summer bookings to the US from Europe were down 25%. Yet, travel industry analysts cautioned against assuming this signals a long-term shift. "While there is evidence of a temporary slowdown at this stage, the combination of price adjustments and strong interest in iconic US destinations suggests the market is poised to recover momentum," said Smith of Thomas Cook. Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, told BI that politics isn't the only factor deterring travelers. "Some of it is a genuine disinclination against spending your holidays in the US," he said, "but much of it is the fear of harassment at the border."
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
HBCU Honored With Exclusive Player Edition Jordan
HBCU Honored With Exclusive Player Edition Jordan originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Jordan Brand has rolled out a truly impressive Player Edition Jordan 4 made specifically for the Bison basketball team. This player edition model represents a few current Nike staples that have performed very well in recent memory. Namely, dark tones of the same color with a white sole and white laces, along with gold trim. The decision to utilize the Jordan 4 would be enough to move the needle, but the colorway treatment applied ensures consumer envy. Advertisement Player Editions are exactly what that implies. A model and colorway made exclusively for players that will not be made available to a wide consumer release. Virtually any PE typically creates a huge demand and an even higher resale value that most any wide release could hope for. View the 9 images of this gallery on the original article Due to such a low volume of pairs that will be circulated within the Howard University program, the Howard Jordan 4 PE could fetch a significant markup down the road when any pairs surface. The design itself needs no real explanation if set within a wide consumer release. The white outsole, white laces, paired with a dark upper that is 3 different shades of navy blue, with gold logos and a specialty 'Howard Bison' gold tag to replace the typical Nike tag sells itself. However, there has been some concern voiced by the Howard University fanbase suggesting the design is more understated than it should've been. Claiming there could have been more done to highlight the culture of Howard University. Advertisement While the two-tone navy blue does fit with the program's logo branding, the absence of red beyond being hidden on the underside of the tongue is noteworthy. Many PE's over the years have had heel logos, tongue logos or even specialty insoles that allow for more freedom with logos and messaging. A logo, whether readily seen or strategically hidden involving some details that are specific to Howard University or HBCUs in general would have been an interesting tribute. Related: NBA legend and HBCU trailblazer dies at 88 While this Howard University PE shoe would sell out in under a couple minutes if set as a wide consumer release, it is and will only be exclusive to players and staffers within the Howard University Basketball program. This exclusive Howard release has been widely reported as 'Spring 2025' and most likely intended for the 2025-26 College Basketball season. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 31, 2025, where it first appeared.