The Academic Legacy of James Jackson

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Abstract

James Jackson was a social psychologist, and the first Black professor hired in the psychology department at the University of Michigan. In 1976, James Jackson founded the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Dr. Jackson, along with his graduate students, conducted the first nationally representative study of Black Americans, the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA). This groundbreaking study illustrated the heterogeneity of the Black community and developed innovative sampling methods for the Black American population. James Jackson also conducted several groundbreaking studies of Black Americans including but not limited to the Detroit Area Study (DAS) and the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). James Jackson produced high-quality and interdisciplinary research, which has been and is influential in several disciplines including psychology, sociology, political science, public health, social work, economics, nursing, medicine and business.

This roundtable will honor the scholastic contributions of James Jackson, who left a legacy of rigorous empirical research, methodological innovations, and an unapologetic focus on studying Black Americans exclusively. PRBA also produced a long roster of stellar Black American, Latinx, and Asian American scholars and administrators in academia and the sciences. Although James Jackson was a social psychologist, his influence is evident in developmental science with a 40-year mentoring history. Confirmed speakers for the memorial roundtable include Cleopatra Caldwell, Robert Sellers, Eleanor Seaton, Courtney Cogburn, Tiffany Yip, Rona Carter, Riana Anderson, Alvin Thomas, Nkemka Anyiwo, Kenneth Dodge and Mia Smith-Bynum.

Sub Unit

• Diversity, Equity & Social Justice

Moderator

• Eleanor K Seaton, Arizona State University

Panelists

• Mia A. Smith-Bynum, University of Maryland - College Park

• Cleopatra Howard Caldwell, University of Michigan

• Robert M. Sellers, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Eleanor K Seaton, Arizona State University

• Courtney D. Cogburn, Columbia University

• Tiffany Yip, Fordham University

• Rona Carter, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Riana Elyse Anderson, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Alvin Thomas, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Nkemka Anyiwo, University of Pennsylvania

• Kenneth A Dodge, Duke University