Debora Jackson Named Foisie Business School Dean
The Rev. Dr. Debora Jackson, who earned two graduate degrees at WPI—a master of science in management (1989) and a master of engineering in manufacturing engineering (2000)—has been named dean of the Robert A. Foisie Business School (FBS) following a nationwide search. A member of the WPI Board of Trustees since 2012, she also holds master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Andover Newton Theological School and most recently served as the inaugural director of lifelong learning at Yale Divinity School.
Jackson is a widely respected business, academic, and spiritual leader who has held C-suite and other leadership roles in technology companies and has managed the growth of large and small nonprofits. She is the author of numerous articles and two books on effective leadership: Spiritual Practices for Effective Leadership: 7 Rs of Sanctuary for Pastors (2015), which received the Illumination Book Silver Medal Award, and Meant for Good: Fundamentals in Womanist Leadership (2019).
“This is a particularly wonderful time for WPI and the Foisie Business School to reimagine our work and mission so that we can best provide the education and the skills needed by our students, industry, and the globe.”
In 2019 she was inducted into the WPI Hall of Luminaries, which recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to their fields and to humanity, and was honored with the WPI Alumni Association’s Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement. She says her interest in FBS stems from her belief that today’s businesses ought to make a difference not only for their employees and partners, but in local and global communities.
“Our world requires strategic thinkers and leaders who are innovative in ways that yield societal impact while also engaging diverse constituencies,” she says. “This is a particularly wonderful time for WPI and the Foisie Business School to reimagine our work and mission so that we can best provide the education and the skills needed by our students, industry, and the globe.”
President Leshin noted that the university is “focused on repositioning the Foisie Business School as an essential academic enterprise at the intersection of business, STEM, and humanity. We are seeking to create a set of unique-in-the-nation experiences to ensure STEM students and professionals have the critical skills necessary to make meaningful contributions through the business world. Our transformational approach required us to embrace a broad search for talent to find the person with just the right expertise, experience, and passion to lead the school, and we have found that person in Dr. Debora Jackson.”