Drs. Dale R. and Vivian R. Jackson

Dale and Vivian (Ivery) Jackson met in 1972 when they were on the staff of the McKinley “Deacon” Davis CHANCE Program. Vivian worked as the associate director, and Dale was a doctoral graduate assistant. Before joining NIU, Vivian was the associate director of the Upward Bound Program at Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois. Dale was the director of the Academic Services Program at Western Illinois University in Macomb. After two years at NIU (1972-1974), Dale and Vivian completed their doctoral degrees. Vivian earned a Ph.D. at Northwestern University and Dale earned an Ed.D, at NIU. Dale and Vivian were married and moved on to further their careers in higher education. Their first stop was at Illinois State University, where Vivian served in multiple positions as a professor and administrator (i.e., director of the University Laboratory High School Counseling Center, director of the University Counseling Center, and assistant professor of counselor education). Dale served in multiple capacities as a Rockefeller Foundation administrative intern to the dean in the college of education; assistant, associate, and professor of educational leadership; assistant to the department chair; and ultimately assistant to the provost and academic vice president. In addition, while at Illinois State, both Dale and Vivian were nominated and accepted for the participation in the Institute for Higher Education Management at Harvard University. Vivian went on to become an associate professor of mental health counseling and associate dean of the Graduate College at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). After a two-year stint as the vice president of student affairs at Chicago State University, Dale became professor and head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling at UNI. Dale and Vivian retired from UNI in 2002 and are now professors emeritus in their respective areas of specialization. The establishment of the Drs. Dale and Vivian R. Jackson Fund for Academic Excellence represents an attempt to give back to NIU and to acknowledge and honor two lifelong friends, McKinley “Deacon” Davis and Robert Stearnes, who were mentors to them when they were on the staff of the CHANCE Program at NIU.