Torie Jackson

By Samantha Cart

When Torie Jackson was young, her father lost his job during a company strike.

“I understood very clearly he didn’t have much to fall back on without an education to support him,” she says. “At that point, I became determined that education was going to be important to me.”

After pursuing a degree in journalism, Jackson spent years working in media, eventually becoming co-owner of a local newspaper. As an employer, she grew frustrated with the gaps in skill sets among applicants but decided to become part of the solution rather than complain.

“I pursued my master’s degree to teach at the college level,” she says. “From there, I moved through the ranks—faculty member, division chair, vice president and chief operating officer. It has been a steady climb built on purpose and preparation.”

Today, Jackson serves as the president of West Virginia University (WVU) at Parkersburg.

“I have the best job in West Virginia: leading a community college that is both innovative and entrepreneurial,” she says.

This role is deeply personal for Jackson.

“Being a student at WVU Parkersburg, experiencing it as a first-generation college graduate, understanding its importance to the community and then later being selected to lead the institution will always be my greatest professional achievement,” she says.

Along with parents who taught her the value of hard work, teachers were some of Jackson’s earliest mentors, and mentorship is just one of the ways she gives back.

“I mentor in many ways, and not everyone I mentor is younger than me,” she says. “Sometimes mentoring happens across and even upward. In my current role, I’ve chosen mentors. I’ve simply told them they’re my mentors because they have skills I want to learn from.”

Jackson says expanding educational opportunities for others feels essential to her purpose. She has contributed as a member and president of the Ritchie County Board of Education and is actively serving as the president-elect of the West Virginia School Board Association, where she will assume the presidency in July.

Jackson is also a member of the Wood County Economic Development Authority, Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport Economic Development Committee, Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley and West Virginia Community and Technical College Advisory Committee. She serves as a board member for the Discovery World on Market, WVU Medicine Camden Clark and National Association of Community Colleges for Entrepreneurship, along with involvement in her local church and basketball league.

“For me, community service is about filling gaps,” she says. “If a void exists, I believe in stepping forward. Communities thrive when people work together, and I want West Virginia to thrive.”

This commitment to West Virginia comes from a place of gratitude.

“I don’t want to leave the place that built me,” Jackson says. “I want to make it better for future generations.”

Jackson shares her rural home with her husband, Todd, and three sons, Creed, Heath and Ruger, and she attributes much of her success to their love and support.

“They make me better,” she says. “They test every quality I try to embody and push me to be patient, persistent and grounded. They may not care that I’m a college president, but they care that I show up, and that matters most.”

A consummate planner, Jackson is guided by the phrase, “You have to see the vision, not the reality.”

“We can get stuck in what is if we don’t imagine what could be,” she says. “I don’t just think inside or outside the box. I like to dance on the box until it’s smashed.”

Her vision for WVU Parkersburg and the Mountain State is focused on economic growth.

“I believe a community college can be the ecosystem that drives growth,” she says. “We are making strides, but real transformation takes years. I’m committed to watching that story unfold and helping write it.”