Dr. Jay Jackson, assistant dean for student affairs and assistant professor of pharmacy practice, has been named chair of the Council for Intercultural Engagement.
Dr. Terriel Byrd, the council’s first chairman, will continue in his position as the fellow for intercultural engagement. The Council for Intercultural Engagement exists to foster a climate of trust and respect as it helps students to think differently about various cultures and diversity.
Jackson said he is honored to continue the work that Byrd, the council and others have begun “to make PBA a more accurate representation of the beautiful family of God — a family that is both diverse and united.”
“My prayer for PBA is that we would welcome, include and celebrate the diversity that each member of our community brings, while emphasizing the unity and oneness that we have in Christ,” Jackson said. “As the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:4-6, ‘There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.’”
Dr. Suzanne Cardona, associate professor of biology; Jin Hanley, associate professor of dance; Aida Castro, counseling and wellness coordinator and Travis Trotman, area coordinator, have joined the council. Cardona is the Faculty Senate representative.
Jackson will serve in a collaborative role with Byrd, who will oversee and advise the work of the council. Both leaders will “foster a cultural climate of sensitivity and biblical justice,” Byrd said.
“I am excited to see Dr. Jay Jackson move into this new role,” Byrd said. “As a PBA alumnus, faculty member and administrator, he’s keenly aware of the unique PBA culture and how important it is to preserve our University’s Christ-first ethos.”
Jackson is an alumnus of Palm Beach Atlantic, having earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy. He competed on the men’s varsity basketball team. In 2012, he earned the Gregory Outstanding Graduate Award.
After he graduated, Jackson completed a post-graduate pharmacy practice residency at the West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he gained invaluable experience in ambulatory care and acute care pharmacy practice. In 2013, Jackson joined GSOP’s clinical faculty, maintaining an internal medicine practice site at a local community hospital.
As a pharmacy practice faculty member, Jackson teaches many pharmacotherapy courses with an emphasis on cardiovascular pharmacotherapy, nutrition support and pharmacogenomics. In 2018, Jackson was promoted to assistant dean for student affairs.
In addition to his teaching and administrative roles, Jackson has a passion for local and international medical missions, having led several trips locally and to the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.
Jackson has received numerous awards, including the GSOP Teacher of the Year Award, GSOP Faculty Preceptor of the Year Award, Dean’s Award for Faculty Innovation and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County and Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Tikkun Olam (Repair the World) Award.
Jackson lives in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife, Tiffany, and their five children.
Photo: Dr. Jay Jackson, assistant dean for student affairs and assistant professor of pharmacy practice, has been named chair of the Council for Intercultural Engagement.
