President of Cal Poly Humboldt University Tom Jackson Jr. announced on Thursday He will leave his post at the rural Northern California institution next month, less than four months after the campus drew national attention for its crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests.
In a statement, the university’s first black president called the Arcata school “a wonderful place with special people.”
“Like many of you, I wake up every day and remember the gift I have been given: the opportunity to inspire and lead others,” she said of her five years in the role. “Your work makes a positive difference for our students. Please never forget that.”
Jackson is set to retire on Aug. 11. Cal Poly officials said an interim president is expected to be named soon and a search for a successor will follow.
School officials said Jackson will not drop out. Instead, he will transition to a tenured professorship in the College of Professional Studies and the College of Extended Education and Global Engagement.
Students protest outside Cal Poly Humboldt on April 30.
(Beau Saunders / For The Times)
The Seattle native served as president of Black Hills State University in South Dakota from 2014 to 2019 before joining Cal Poly in the summer of 2019.
“Tom Jackson Jr. has provided visionary, principled, forward-thinking and prudent leadership during what has been one of the most important periods in Cal Poly Humboldt’s history,” said Cal State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia. said in the statement.
But some faculty and students have been less optimistic about Jackson’s legacy because of his handling of campus protests in April.
Masked pro-Palestinian protesters Siemens Hall occupied, educational building, which includes the university rector’s office, on April 22. Protesters, mostly students, blocked the entrance with chairs and tables and held a banner reading “STOP GENOCIDE.”
Three students were arrested after law enforcement officers wearing helmets and carrying riot shields clashed with protesters.
The protests grew and attracted national attention. While the videos went viral Protesters obstructed law enforcement efforts to end the occupation.
The students renamed it “Intifada Hall” after resisting attempts by police in riot gear to evict them from the building. slogans such as “return to the land”, “tear down all colonial walls” and “no pigs allowed” its corridors up and down and wrote “BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS” on the wooden walls of Jackson’s office.
School officials closed the campus on April 22, which was supposed to be closed temporarily. The closure was eventually extended for the remainder of the semester and classes were held online.
On April 30, police cracked down on protests, arresting dozens of students and forcibly retaking the campus.
Three students were arrested after law enforcement officers wearing helmets and carrying riot shields clashed with protesters.
(Beau Saunders / For The Times)
Faculty members accused Jackson of failing to understand the school’s culture and history of activism, which included anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1970s and deforestation protests in the 1980s and 1990s.
Assistant professor Ruhullo Aghasaleh, who was arrested at one of the protests, said Jackson “must be held accountable for his decisions that jeopardized the safety and well-being of students and staff in April 2024.”
Dominic Corva, a sociology professor, said Thursday he was “incredibly relieved” to learn of Jackson’s impending departure.
“I was not sure I would be able to return to this university under his administration,” said Korva, who was a faculty spokesman and observer of the protests.
Corva said Jackson “has lived through the consequences of his actions in April” and is not happy about joining the faculty.
“It’s a huge amount of money that’s preventing us from adding new signings that we desperately need,” Corva said of Jackson’s continued presence on the payroll. “So I’m disappointed by the decision, especially since he’s been leading the austerity since he got here and now he’s going to be part of the problem.”
Before the protests, Jackson was perhaps best known for promoting Humboldt to Cal Poly, the only one in Northern California.
New name created in 2022 It aims to increase inclusion through science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and challenging research offerings.
Cal Poly’s enrollment in 2023 will increase 2% to 5,976 students. That number is 14% lower than the nearly 7,000 students enrolled in the fall 2019 semester, Jackson’s first at Humboldt.
