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Cambridge College names new president

Print | Comments () Posted by Martin Finucane April 1, 2011 02:52 PM

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By Katherine Landergan, Globe Correspondent

Cambridge College today named Deborah Jackson, former chief executive of the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts and former senior vice president of Boston Children’s Hospital, as its new president, effective next month.

"Deborah Jackson is one of the most reputable and accomplished visionary leaders in New England with a plethora of cross sector and industry experience that few individuals accomplish in a lifetime,” Cambridge College Board of Trustees chairman Derek Davis said in a statement.

"I am honored to join Cambridge College’s dynamic academic community,” Jackson said in the statement. “The College embodies a mission that has been my lifelong focus: to close the equity gap in our society for adults from diverse backgrounds.”

Jackson is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award for Achievement in Management. She was also noted in Boston Magazine's "100 Most Influential Women in Boston."

She received her undergraduate degree from Northeastern University, attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Urban Studies and Planning for graduate studies, and was a Harvard University Advanced Leadership Fellow.

In 2008, Cambridge College trustees fired the school’s previous president after learning of his hiring and financial practices, including using a college credit card to buy more than $5,000 worth of rugs for his home. A school investigation also found that Mahesh Sharma appointed a consultant who had a lucrative contract with the school to a high-level post, and tried to use college funds for his nephew’s college tuition. The board dismissed him on a 20-0 vote.