Morehead State alum awarded grant to help student-athletes

Dr. Jamaal Jackson (Class of 2023) is a graduate of Morehead State’s Doctor of Education in Adult and Higher Education Leadership program. He’s applying the skills he learned in the program to help student-athletes succeed on and off the court.  

Jackson is the head men's basketball coach at Kentucky State University (KSU) and his innovative approach to helping student-athletes has been awarded the KYNETIC (Kentucky Network for Innovation & Commercialization) Cycle 8 Grant.  

Jackson led an effort to create a groundbreaking e-learning tool tailored for the departmental staff for college or university athletic programs.  

The tool consists of modules designed to pinpoint and address graduation barriers faced by Black male student-athletes, including mental health challenges, and offering valuable guidance for helping students in overcoming these obstacles. The KYNETIC Cycle 8 Grant will support Jackson and others as they work to develop and introduce the product to the marketplace.  

“The KYNETIC team helped me through every step, and being awarded the grant is just the beginning for me and my team,” Jackson said. “We hope to develop our e-Learning tool and successfully market it to institutions throughout the nation, not just for use in athletics, but for all different student populations. 

Jackson said many of the skills and approaches he uses to be a leader on and off the basketball court came during his time at MSU.  

“The relationships built with my diverse cohort were very helpful in helping me through the process of earning the Ed.D. degree and will be very helpful as I continue to grow professionally,” Jackson said. “The ideas that were shared, stories about different paths, why’s, and backgrounds, along with the need to constantly motivate each other, is something that I’ll never forget.”  

"The Morehead State University doctoral program is proud of Dr. Jackson's accomplishment," said Dr. Timothy Simpson, director of the MSU Doctoral Program. "He had the ability to recognize a problem facing student athletics, design a solution in collaboration with others to support students and staff, and the tenacity to see the solution to reality. Dr. Jackson is an excellent representative of our program's desire to create educational leaders in the Commonwealth."  

To learn more about MSU's Ed.D. program, email fgse@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2261.