Story by Logan Boger Photos courtesy of Bob Jackson
The Jacksons An inside look into the first family
When finding a president for a university, it is essential they want to influence education. The 14th president of Murray State, Robert “Bob” Jackson, has been passionate about education since childhood. Jackson grew up in the rural town of Magnolia, Kentucky, and is one of six kids. All of Jackson’s siblings are first-generation college students. However, this does not mean education fell to the wayside. Education was highly valued by his family,
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and for the Jackson children it wasn’t a question of if they were going to college. It was where they would attend. “All my siblings have some education beyond a high school degree,” Jackson said. “Three of them have terminal degrees, two of them are MDs and I have a doctorate. So our family valued education.” Karen Jackson, Bob’s wife, has a similar background, originally from Kuttawa, Kentucky. Her middle-class family instilled a
strong work ethic that still follows her today. Since high school, Karen has always wanted to follow in the footsteps of her great-grandmother and become a nurse. As soon as she started at Murray State, she enrolled in the nursing program and after she graduated, she had a successful career in the field. “I just always knew that was what I should be doing,” Karen said. “And it worked. It worked out well.”
