With a desire to put a more strategic focus on FAMU’s
master’s and doctoral degree production, in 2015, President Elmira Mangum and
Provost Marcella David tapped award-winning professor and alumnus David H.
Jackson to lead its graduate college and serve as associate provost for
graduate education.
The reenergized efforts have resulted in a 26 percent
increase in graduate applications for fall 2016 over last year’s 709
applicants. As a result, the University is expecting an increase in master’s
and doctoral research student enrollment this fall.
According to Mangum, these advancements can be attributed to
a robust mix of new technology, new outreach efforts, and the age-old factors
of passion and commitment.
“The University has seen great results from its
implementation of behavior-based online marketing for its graduate programs and
new internal software for our academic programs,” Mangum said. “Dr. Jackson,
his staff, and the deans of our colleges and schools have been hard at work in
their recruiting efforts and pulling their resources together.”
David applauded the growth of the program, a key part of her
vision to enhance FAMU’s academic offerings. She noted that the new University
work plan includes a goal to continuously increase graduate student enrollment.
“Last year, when Dr. Jackson took the job of dean of the
School of Graduate Studies and Research, he began to re-engineer our approaches
for recruiting and attracting graduate students to Florida A&M University,”
David said, noting that Jackson’s recruitment model built upon efforts to
enhance graduate student support put in place by previous Interim Dean
Verian Thomas. “He has helped to develop strategic approaches, which
include external and internal recruitment efforts, and made sure that our
application process flowed smoothly.”
According to Jackson, his goal is to ensure that students
get to experience the graduate education that FAMU provided him as a student
while pursuing a master’s degree in public administration, which he says set
the course for a successful career.
“As a graduate student here at FAMU, I worked with
remarkable professors, advisors, and staff who helped me to excel in my
studies,” Jackson said. “Today, I am proud to say that once again I have the
privilege of working with dedicated staff, deans, department chairs, and
graduate program coordinators, to ensure that all graduate applicants are
handled with great care and that they will have an exceptional experience at
FAMU.”