SARA (YOUNG) JACKSON

Chancellor Pepperdine University

Sara Jackson has served Pepperdine University in key leadership roles since 1979. She began her decades-long career at Pepperdine as the assistant director of student life and advanced to the director position. In the late 1980s, she worked with student leaders to design and launch the Pepperdine Volunteer Center, a center where students, staff, and faculty members live out the University mission by engaging in service opportunities and building lasting partnerships within the community. In her role as founding director, Jackson developed the managing board and launched the earliest campus-wide volunteer programs.

Jackson was named chancellor in 2019. As chancellor, Jackson leads major initiatives to help strengthen the University’s endowment while cultivating meaningful relationships to extend Pepperdine’s reach throughout Southern California and around the globe. The chancellor is also a member of the University’s senior leadership team and serves as an important advisor to President James A. Gash.