BCC Former Directors
Robert Lott
Robert Lott was hired as the Assistant Dean of Students in 1971. Under his direction he moved to make the BCC a more inclusive place, as part of the mission of the Center was to be a place to share cultures and for students of all colors to learn more about each other. It was also during his time that the Office of Minority Student Programs became a unit with its own director at ISU.
DeLores “Dee” Hawkins
DeLores Hawkins came to ISU from Chicago as part of the “Pilot Program,” recruitment initiative of Black students, in the fall of 1969. She joined the BSO and helped push for the formation of the BCC. Hawkins would go on earn her B.S. in Journalism in 1973 and took over as the Director of the BCC in 1976, a role she filled until the hiring of Dr. George A. Jackson in 1978. She would go on to receive her M.S. in 1984 and work at ISU in Financial Assistance for over 20 years.
Dr. George A. Jackson
Dr. George A. Jackson arrived at ISU in 1978, and his arrival resulted in a sustained and stable leadership for the BCC and the Office of Minority Student Programs, now Multicultural Student Affairs. For over 31 years, Dr. Jackson worked tirelessly to increase the enrollment, retention, and graduation rate of underrepresented students at ISU. His passion for student success was the inspiration behind many programs still in place at ISU: TRIO, Multicultural Liaison Officers, and the George Washington Carver Doctoral Fellowship, to name a few. The Black Cultural Center was named in his honor on May 21, 2017, almost a year after he had passed away.