West Virginia University at Parkersburg President Torie Jackson thanks those who attended the WVU-P Board of Governors meeting Tuesday where she was officially named as the new president after serving almost a year as interim president. Photo by Brett Dunlap

PARKERSBURG — West Virginia University at Parkersburg has named its new president.

The school’s Board of Governors voted Tuesday to name Torie Jackson as the new president of the university.

The board’s vote brought cheers and applause from some of the over 40 people who attended the meeting.

Some even threw confetti as Board President Steven Hardman brought her into the board room and introduced her as the new president.

“It is an honor and a privilege to lead the institution that first embraced me years ago,” Jackson said. ”I appreciate the support of our board of governors, our faculty and staff, and our students.

“I will continue to work to make sure all of us are WVU Parkersburg Proud!”

The Selection Committee narrowed it down to two finalists, Jackson and Cathy Monteroso, the interim president at West Liberty University, from a list of seven semi-finalists.

Jackson will assume the presidency on July 1. She is currently the interim president and Chief Executive Officer at WVU-P. She has also served the school in various leadership roles since her start in higher education in 2004.

She has been serving as the interim president for almost a year since former President Chris Gilmer left last June to become the president at West Virginia University Potomac State College.

”We have discovered so many things about WVU-P that I think we can make it even better,” Jackson said. ”So the opportunity to see those through is something I was really hoping I would have and now I do so I am very excited.”

Jackson is an alumna of the institution, originally graduating in 1997. She has served as Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President for Institutional Advancement, President and CEO of the WVU at Parkersburg Foundation, and as an Associate Professor of Communication.

”I often say that this is the college that built me,” Jackson said. ”When I was at a point in my life when things were difficult this is the college that embraced me and helped me develop confidence in myself.

”To be able to instill that confidence in students today is a dream I am happy to have.”

Hardman said they are excited and honored to have selected Jackson as the new president.

”We are excited and honored that Dr. Torie Jackson has been selected as the new President of WVU-P,” Hardman said. “Dr. Jackson’s experiences — both personally and professionally — and her outlook on life make her uniquely suited for this position.”

Her other leadership roles at WVU-P have also included Dean of Public Affairs and Experiential Learning; Chair of the Division of Humanities, Fine Arts, and Social Sciences; and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at WVU-P. She has been elected by her peers to serve as Chair of the Faculty Senate and as the faculty member of the Board of Governors.

Jackson holds an earned doctoral degree in higher education administration (Ed.D.) from West Virginia University, a master’s degree in organizational communication from WVU, and bachelor’s and associate degrees in journalism. Her first college degree was an associate degree in journalism from WVU-P.

She had previously worked at The Parkersburg News and Sentinel in the late 1990s. She has also been involved in the community on the Ritchie County Board of Education, as an Executive Committee Member of the West Virginia School Board Association, a Legislative Steering Committee Member of the West Virginia School Board Association, Past President of the Creed Collins Elementary School Parent Teachers Organization, a member of the West Virginia Press Association, Delta Kappa Gamma, and an active leader and volunteer in church and civic activities.

Many representatives from a number of community organizations were present for the announcement and congratulated Jackson immediately afterwards.

”Community support is vital to being a successful college president,” Jackson said. ”The fact this community has already embraced the direction WVU-P is going and me as the leader will help us move to that next level of being a driver in the economy and making sure we are preparing the workforce.

”When the community works with the college there is so much success we can have.”

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com