[ad_1]
Sumalayo Jackson will become assistant to the president for human relations at Indiana State University, President Deborah J. Curtis announced Friday.
“Indiana State needs to develop stronger partnerships with local groups serving underrepresented populations,” Curtis said. “This role will help develop and grow those relationships as we work together to improve our community and address social justice issues. I am pleased to have Sumalayo serving in this role.”
Sign up for our newsletters to get the latest, breaking news.
Jackson will report directly to Curtis, and her role will include serving on the president’s cabinet. The position is the revamping of an existing salary line within the communication function of the president’s office and does not require allocation of any new money, the university said.
A native of Terre Haute, Jackson received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in student affairs administration from ISU.
“I’m looking forward to working toward building bridges within our ISU community,” Jackson said in a news release. “ISU should be the platform which speaks and upholds the ideas of truth and justice for all. This is the time to be the change we want to see.”
In an interview, Curtis said the university “started working on this about a month ago, taking a look at how can we better interact in the community. I’m now 2.5 years here and there are certain entities in Terre Haute I haven’t engaged with, and I wanted it to come from the president’s office.”
Those entities include the Greater Terre Haute branch of the NAACP, the Human Relations Commission and the faith based community.
Jackson will facilitate those connections, not only in Terre Haute, but also Indianapolis, which is home to many ISU students.
“One crucial piece for us is to attract and retain faculty and staff from minority groups and under-represented groups, and they have to feel apart of this community, and we’ve not really opened up that dialogue here,” Curtis said. “So it’s an effort to make sure it comes from the president’s office and I have the opportunity to communicate.”
Curtis also hopes Jackson will work with ISU’s colleges to…
[ad_2]
Read More: Indiana State creates new cabinet-level post | Local News
