Smith-Jackson Named Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (May 15, 2019) -- A longtime award-winning leader in science education and research, who most recently spent a year as a program director at the National Science Foundation, has been named senior vice provost for Academic Affairs at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. 

Tonya Smith-Jackson, Ph.D., has held numerous roles at N.C. A&T during her six-year tenure at the university, from founder and/or director of multiple centers, professor and chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering to interim director of the new Center of Excellence in Cybsersecurity, Research, Education and Outreach.

Over the course of more than 20 years, Smith-Jackson has published more than 160 peer-reviewed publications, attracted $16.4 million in external research funding and received numerous awards from universities and professional organizations across the country. 

“Dr. Smith-Jackson’s leadership by example and deep commitment to the academic enterprise of North Carolina A&T and our students distinguished her in a highly competitive search,” said Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Beryl McEwen. “We look forward to the many contributions she will make in this new role and to the incredible energy and enthusiasm she brings to her work.” 

Smith-Jackson holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in psychology/ergonomics and interdisciplinary industrial engineering and a Ph.D. in psychology/ergonomics, both from North Carolina State University. 

After beginning her career in the private sector, Smith-Jackson worked briefly for North Carolina State’s Ergonomics Laboratory before joining the faculty of Virginia Tech in 1999. During 14 years there, she held numerous positions including professor of industrial and systems engineering and director of the Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Center. She also served as a scholar-in-residence at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in Bethesda, Maryland.

She joined N.C. A&T in 2013 as professor and chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and founder and director of the Human Factors Analytics Laboratory. She later founded and co-directed the Cyber-Human Analytics Research for the Internet-of-Things Laboratory.

Smith-Jackson spent 2018-19 at the National Science Foundation as program director of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate in the Cyber-Human Systems Program. Upon her return to N.C. A&T earlier this year, she was named interim director of the new cybersecurity center.

Smith-Jackson’s appointment as senior vice provost was effective May 1.