Torie Jackson

Vice President of Institutional Advancement, WVU Parkersburg, and President & CEO, WVU at Parkersburg Foundation

By Amanda Larch

Growing up, Torie Jackson kept charts of constellations above her bed and dreamed of becoming an astronomer. As it turns out, another career path for her seems to have been written in the stars. Jackson, vice president of institutional advancement at West Virginia University (WVU) Parkersburg and president and CEO of the WVU at Parkersburg Foundation, has worked in the world of mass communications in some capacity for most of her career.

During her second semester of college, Jackson walked into The Parkersburg News & Sentinel office to ask for a job, and the editor gave her a chance. She set a goal to be a newspaper editor by the time she was 25, but by that time, she was already a newspaper owner. She later began teaching journalism at WVU Parkersburg and created the curriculum for bachelor’s degree options in communication and media studies, a program in which she still teaches as an associate professor.

In her current role, Jackson works every day in the areas of marketing, communication, alumni relations, career services, public relations, experiential learning, scholarships and donor cultivation and stewardship. She also works with 11 high schools in the region on an early college program.

“I am blessed to participate in so many activities, and I find each day is different and never routine,” she says. “In all my tasks, I am able to provide opportunities for people to either begin or continue their educational journey. I can think of no greater job.”

No matter what job she holds or where she may be, Jackson never stops trying to better herself and the world around her, which is what inspires her to give back.

“I became involved in community service activities years ago because I felt that if I wanted to see a change or see a service provided, I needed to do my part to make it happen,” she says.

Jackson is a board member for the Children of Promise in Action sports association, which offers soccer and basketball leagues to youth in Ritchie County, and she serves as a board member for the TLC Pregnancy Center of Ritchie County, an organization that offers classes and career assistance to young mothers-to-be.

Just as she finds fulfillment in helping others, Jackson is passionate about opportunities for educational advancement, as she believes involvement is necessary to help improve the state’s education system. She is in her fifth year on the Ritchie County Board of Education, and she serves as the co-director of Region V for the West Virginia School Board Association. She is also a member of the Content Standards Training Committee for the West Virginia State Board of Education.

Perhaps the service most near and dear to Jackson is her involvement with the Ritchie County Youth Camp, which she and her husband, Todd, founded more than 10 years ago. Each year, Jackson writes a grant to host the camp at no cost to the campers.

“Knowing the expense of a youth camp, my husband and I decided it was time to lead the way and provide an inexpensive option for youth in our community,” says Jackson. “We have up to 130 students attend annually.”

She also finds time to volunteer as general manager and cohost at WPKM 96.3 FM, the college radio station she was instrumental in creating at WVU Parkersburg.

“In essence, all my community service activities are about providing a voice for others, whether that is through making decisions on a county school board or allowing local radio to air,” she says.

Jackson is proud to live and work in the Mountain State—and rural Ritchie County, in particular.

“I spent years working in media and interviewing outsiders who would come to West Virginia,” she says. “They always found a bit of Southern charm in West Virginia: a place where people know their neighbors, where communities band together to help one another and where a good work ethic is still found. I love that I can make a difference here. As a friend once told me, ‘Why be a small fish in a big pond when you can be a shark in a koi pond?’”

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“Don’t tell me the old lady screamed, just bring her on and let her scream.”

– Mark Twain