Hall of Fame Member Biographies

Joe C. Jackson

Joe C. Jackson taught history and speech at two Oklahoma high schools before joining the faculty in 1948 at Central State College, now the University of Central Oklahoma. He was an associate professor for three years before being promoted to Dean in 1951. Twenty years later, he became vice president for Academic Affairs. Jackson was regarded as one of Oklahoma’s premier teachers of Oklahoma history, and students flocked to his classes. He is known as the “Father of Graduate Education” at UCO, and started the fifth-year program in 1954. He retired in 1976 and at 94 years of age, still lives in metropolitan Oklahoma City. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 1996.