Office Of The President

Interim VP of Research and Economic Development

Dr. ConSandra McNeil oversees Research, Sponsored Programs, Research Compliance, Technology Transfer and Commercialization, Federal Relations and JSU Global. McNeil is an action-oriented researcher, grant writer and scholar whose work brings together scholarship, engagement, and community. Most recently, she served Jackson State University as assistant provost, focusing on research engagement; activity director of the Institute for Social Justice & Race Relations; and professor of sociology. From 2018-2020, she served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the National Science Foundation. As part of her fellowship, McNeil worked with a team on evaluating NSF Sexual Harassment Term and Condition, Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She also has experience in policy oversight and implementation, compliance with laws and regulations that govern federal-sector EEO and civil rights in the grantee community.

McNeil has received numerous awards and accolades for her academic and community outreach accomplishments, including the IHL Diversity Leadership Award in 2021. She was selected to participate in the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Leadership Institute at Wellesley College. McNeil earned her master’s degree in sociology, alcohol and drug studies from Jackson State University and a graduate certificate in homeland security-disaster management from Texas A&M University. She received her doctoral degree in sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.