About the New England Higher Education Excellence Awards
Since 2003, NEBHE has formally recognized people and groups with New England Higher Education Excellence Awards for their exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and advancement of educational opportunity.
Past Excellence Awardees have included U.S. Sen. George Mitchell of Maine, the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the late Sister Janice Ryan, president of Trinity College of Vermont, noted oceanographer Robert D. Ballard, Dartmouth College President emeritus James Wright and Eastern Connecticut State University President Elsa M. Núñez. In 2013, NEBHE honored Donald R. Vickers, then president and CEO of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation.
Jackie Jenkins-Scott, President of Roxbury Community College, Honored for Excellence
Boston, MA — The New England Board of Higher Education honored Jackie Jenkins-Scott, president of Roxbury Community College, with its Massachusetts Excellence Award on May 10, 2024. The award recognizes President Jenkins-Scott’s decades of superior leadership in higher education and mission-driven institutions.
“President Jenkins-Scott has had a career of leading institutions that are essential to Boston’s future, from the Dimock Center to Wheelock College to Roxbury Community College at the time of its 50th anniversary. She demonstrates vision, insight and a deep understanding of what communities need to thrive,” said Michael K. Thomas, president and chief executive officer, New England Board of Higher Education.
Speakers at the event included Reverend Omari Aarons-Martin, representing the Roxbury Community College Board of Trustees and the Honorable Leslie Harris, Associate Justice, Suffolk Juvenile Court (retired), representing the Roxbury Community College Foundation Board.
Speakers described Jenkins-Scott’s innovative and transformational leadership of Roxbury Community College as it reached its 50th anniversary in 2023 and announced plans for the college’s new Business Innovation Center and Center for Economic and Social Justice. Jenkins-Scott was named in Boston Magazine’s 2024 list of the 150 Most Influential Bostonians.
Leading Mission-Driven Institutions
In her over three decades of leading mission-driven institutions in education and healthcare, President Jenkins-Scott is recognized for her expertise in bringing together diverse talents from boards, staff and business and civic communities to achieve larger goals.
Her experience includes serving as 13th President of Wheelock College, in Boston, MA and its first African American president, where she advocated for the college’s mission to improve the lives of children and families and increased the endowment and enrollment and expanded facilities.
As President and CEO of the Dimock Community Health Center (now the Dimock Center) in Roxbury, MA, she transformed Dimock from near bankruptcy to a benchmark institution that integrates comprehensive health and human services for diverse, vulnerable populations.
Jenkins-Scott shares her expertise with numerous corporate, civic, and community-based organizations, including serving as the Senior Philanthropic Advisor to the Boston Women’s Fund, and is a sought-after speaker and presenter.
Other recognitions include the Richard L. and Ronay A. Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and serving as a Fellow in the Distinguished Public Service Leaders Fellowship Program at the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Boston and six honorary degrees.
Jenkins-Scott earned a Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University, a Master of Social Work from Boston University School of Social Work, Completed a Post-graduate Research Fellowship at Radcliffe College. She is the author of the 2020 book, The 7 Secrets of Responsive Leadership.
| Rhode Island: Gregg Amore and Kasim Yarn |  |
| Connecticut: The Hon. Roberta B. Willis |  |
| New Hampshire: Senator Lou D’Allesandro and Robin DeRosa |  |
| Vermont: Scott Giles and and Alice Miller |  |
For the list of previous Excellence Award winners, click here.