Inside Higher Ed: Division at RPI
It would be hard to beat Shirley Ann Jackson’s résumé: First black woman to receive a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a physicist who led impressive research teams at Rutgers University and AT&T Bell Laboratories, chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and — since 1999 — president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
When national commissions or universities want an expert on science and especially on diversifying the research work force (a topic on many minds since a certain university president managed to offend women nationwide with his thoughts on the topic), Jackson is the person to call. She publishes papers and captivates conferences.
Back in Troy, however, it turns out a lot of people are less than impressed. The faculty held a no confidence vote this week and while Jackson in some sense won the vote, the margin was quite narrow: 155 to 149 in her favor.
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