By Mackenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer
Dr. Kevin Jackson, Baylor’s vice president of student life, announced his retirement from Baylor last week, after 16 years with the university.
“To be able to finish my career at a school where we can truly work with our student’s mind, body and soul has just been amazing,” Jackson said.
Prior to his time at Baylor, Jackson served in a similar student life-related position at Texas A&M University for almost 20 years. However, his time as an Aggie does not compare to his time at Baylor, he said.
“[A&M] is arguably one of the top 10 student affairs divisions in the country,” Jackson said. “But because it’s a state university, you cannot engage fully [and] comprehensively in your faith formation like you can at Baylor.”
Throughout his long tenure at Baylor, Jackson was face-to-face with many challenges within the university, particularly an infamous Title IX scandal in 2016.
“We learned some really hard lessons, and we are a much better university today because of [it],” Jackson said. “Coming out of that time period, we hired our President, Linda Livingstone, who is an incredible leader.”
Despite this tumultuous time in Baylor’s history, Jackson remains proud of his staff and Baylor as a whole.
“We accepted where we had fallen short, we identified it, we took ownership for it, and then we began to work to reconcile and restore relationships with individuals who had been harmed and create an environment in which we are going to be better,” Jackson said. “And we did exactly that.”
A mere four years later, Jackson also served the university throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed not just Baylor, but how the rest of the world interacted with each other.
“About halfway through, we looked at each other and said, you know what, we want to be stronger coming out of COVID than we were going into COVID,” Jackson said. “Few institutions that we saw were actually able to do that, to be able to galvanize around their mission and be stronger, and we were.”
Through his time, Jackson and his staff championed a “first-of-its-kind” study of student faith and development, which helped the division of student life better understand who they are representing.
“It taught us so much about our students, their faith formation, where they’ve been doing well and where we needed to make changes,” Jackson said.
Going down memory lane, Jackson said highlights throughout his career that he is most proud of include the premier on-campus residential experience, the hard-working New Student Programs and campus ministry.
“It’s not because of me; it’s because of this incredible team we have and the support from the President’s Council, students, alumni and faculty,” Jackson said. “All of this comes together to make Baylor such a special university.”
Under Jackson’s leadership, Baylor regularly appears in national rankings for campus living, student leadership, premier communities and more.
“It’s about we as a collective university and our work here to help students become more the person He’s created them to be –– mind, body and soul,” Jackson said. “Everything we’ve done under my leadership has moved us in that direction.”
After Jackson’s official retirement from the university this summer, he will be succeeded by his close friend and colleague, Dr. Sharra Hynes, who is currently the senior associate vice president and dean of students.
“I think it’ll definitely be different,” Hynes said. “But I think that’s the humbling part, saying ‘I’m here to learn and to grow into what this opportunity is, to continue to represent students and advocate well for their needs.'”
Despite the excitement of her new upcoming position, Hynes feels humbled by Jackson’s legacy and considers it a “privilege” to follow in his footsteps.
“To know someone and respect them professionally, personally, spiritually is rare, so rare. It’s really been an honor.” Hynes said. “I’m keenly aware that there are big shoes to fill, but I also feel prepared and ready to step into that role.”
As associate vice president and dean of students, Hynes’ current responsibilities include the “student-facing” departments, like Campus Living and Learning, New Student Programs, Student Activities and Student Conduct. She said she is excited to bring this experience into her new role and to delve further into Baylor’s Christian mission.
“Both Dr. Jackson and I feel a sense of great privilege to invite [students] into a deeper understanding of the Christian faith,” Hynes said. “What an awesome privilege it is to walk with students in the way they’re forming their minds [and] souls.”
As the time grows closer to his retirement, Jackson details the “leadership succession process” that Baylor typically uses across several different departments, which emphasizes having a good succession plan for your entire leadership team, he said.
“When the time came for me to think about stepping away, we’d already worked on our succession plan,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t be more pleased that Sharra is stepping into this role. I am so confident in her.”
Hynes will continue to work closely with Jackson during the semester before officially assuming the role on July 1.
“We have a divisional strategic plan and we’ll have different people that are involved in the process, but the work is the same,” Hynes said. “My hope is that the general student body will never know that there’s been leadership change. It should not disrupt anything related to their experience.”
As Jackson reminisces on his time at Baylor, he remains deeply grateful and honored to be a Baylor Bear, he said.
“I’m incredibly grateful for incredible colleagues, amazing staff and faculty, and a leadership team that has helped me experience the last five years of my career as the best five years of my career,” Jackson said.
Jackson and his wife plan to remain in Waco for the time being and are looking forward to time with family, traveling and serving their community. He hopes to remain just as close with his Baylor family as well.
“I want the Baylor family to know how grateful I am to have been able to serve at this institution for what will be 16 years,” Jackson said. “Truly every day has been a blessing along the way.”
