Worcester Polytechnic Institute has named an alumna as the new dean of the Robert A. Foisie Business School, the first woman and person of color to do so.
The Rev. Debora Jackson, who has master’s degrees from WPI in both manufacturing engineering and management, joins the school with a background that includes corporate leadership, religious ministry and higher education. Her appointment, which was announced Tuesday, starts Jan. 1.
Jackson spent 20 years in software engineering, eventually holding executive roles at the Swiss firm Smart Energy, and holding director positions at three others. She then pivoted toward ministry, enrolling in the Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, where she earned her master's degree of divinity and doctorate of ministry in leadership. In 2017, Jackson was named the first director of lifelong learning at the Yale Divinity School.