Billie Jackson*

Chico State Student Learning Center
Disability Support Services
1977–2006
Deceased: 2020

Billie Jackson was a transformational figure, equal parts grace and strength, for generations of Chico State students, and a pillar of the campus and greater Chico community.

Jackson, who was known to many as “Miss Billie,” was hired in 1977 as director of Chico State’s Student Learning Center, where she grew the small program into comprehensive, supplemental instruction for all University students. She later served as director of Disability Support Services (what would later become the Accessibility Resource Center).

Jackson played a critical role in developing recruitment strategies for Black students, including building programs like Operation Success, which assisted students transitioning from home to Chico State, and the Institute of Black Enhancement, which hosted support groups run by Black faculty and staff. She also was crucial to the creation of the Black Faculty and Staff Association and Black Commencement, which became the model for other graduation celebrations.

“Folks gravitated to Miss Billie because she had good insight, and she knew how to listen effectively,” said Herman Ellis, retired associate vice president for Student Life and Leadership and Hall of Honor member. “There are hundreds of students who directly benefited from her wisdom and her caring touch.

The Billie Jackson Award was established after her retirement in 2006 to honor her many contributions to the University and pay tribute to the top Black graduate each year.

Highly active in the Chico community, Jackson was instrumental in the establishment of the Chico Boys and Girls Club of the North Valley, having served on the original board of directors. She was also a founding member of Chico’s Habitat for Humanity and served on the Essence Women’s Club of Chico and at the Bethel AME Church.

In 1996 she was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award from the City of Chico and in 2006 was named the Rotary Paul Harris awardee. After she passed away in 2020, she was honored posthumously in her hometown and named the 2021 Oroville Union High School District Hall of Fame inductee.

“Community was core in the life of Billie Jackson—she built it into the work she did, her friends who became family, and in her church,” said CC Carter, Hall of Honor member and former director of Student Life and Leadership. “Billie knew how important this was and she specialized in creating a community for all.”