Dr. Paula L. Jackson begins her first full year as the associate athletic director for external relations at Norfolk State in 2023-24 after starting in January of 2023. In that capacity, her responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the management of marketing, sponsorships and partnerships, strategic communication, and name, image, and likeness (NIL) strategies for the athletics department.
Dr. Jackson comes to NSU with a multitude of extensive employment experience. She has over 20 years of experience in athletics, including previous opportunities to sit in the athletic director’s seat at Hampton, Savannah State, and Lincoln University. She gained the distinction of being the only female African American AD with two national championships under her leadership within the same year.
During her nine years at Hampton, Dr. Jackson played an integral role in the progression and success of Pirate Athletics, collaborating on strategies for conference re-alignment, academic excellence, and national exposure. She was the catalyst of the revitalized APR plan, implanting a program that garnered national recognition in multiple years. She also utilized her development skills to bring in over a million dollars through the crafting and implementation of multiple grants.
Dr. Jackson also spent five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) as a part of the public relations/gameday operations staff.
On the national level, Dr. Jackson has served as a member of the NCAA Division I Council, NCAA Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee, and NCAA Accelerating Academic Success Program Selection Committee. As a member of the national organization Women Leaders in College Sports, she presently serves as co-lead of the Title IX circle. She is also a former member of the Board of Directors for the Minority Opportunities Athletics Association (MOAA).
Recently, Dr. Jackson was named a 2022 HBCU Executive Leadership Institute Fellow. This institute specifically prepares participants for executive level leadership at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s).
Dr. Jackson is a graduate of Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast and print journalism, earning her MBA in marketing from Clark Atlanta University. She earned her PhD in Education with a specialization in athletic administration from Northcentral University with her dissertation title being “Barriers of African American Women Seeking Leadership Positions in Collegiate Sports.”
