Haverhill, MA (October 5, 2026) – Northern Essex Community College has welcomed a new Dean of STEM. Dr. Jennifer Jackowski joined the college in September. Most recently, Jackowski served as Director of statewide A.S. Engineering Pathway Development for the Wisconsin Technical College System and as a full-time faculty member at Madison Area Technical College.
She says becoming a dean would have been beyond her wildest imagination as a teen growing up in Wisconsin. 
“I never thought I’d be a college student, let alone an instructor, let alone a dean. I can relate to community college students because I have some of the same lived experiences. I can set a really high standard and help give them the support to get to that level,” remarks Jackowski.
Initially in gifted and talented programs, Jackowski says she became bored and disengaged as she moved through school. She eventually dropped out of high school, and instead she got her equivalency degree at Moraine Park Technical College. She found work as a sports photographer, which she loved, but became interested in the idea of going to college after talking with a colleague who was pursuing a medical assisting degree.
A few years later, she enrolled at Madison Area Technical College and rediscovered a love of math and science through teachers who turned into mentors. She then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned a B.S. in Botany, a B.S. in Biological Aspects of Conservation and a Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry & Technology.
It wasn’t until graduate school that Jackowski had a clear idea of what she wanted to do with her degrees. She suddenly found herself in front of the class, teaching, when her professor and graduate school advisor left to spend a month in Europe.
“I was making exams and practice questions and answering student questions and realized this is what I’m meant to do.”
Not long after that, she landed a job teaching chemistry back at Madison Area Technical College. She quickly took on other projects too, like growing an engineering transfer program from 50 to 400 students. Eventually, she served as Department Chair for Engineering and Industrial Technology, where she supported Early College work, developed programs, and led retention efforts. She also has extensive experience with career and technical education (CTE) from her role in the Wisconsin Technical College System, and she says she looks forward to expanding and supporting the CTE efforts already underway at NECC. With 13,000 students on waitlists for CTE high schools, Jackowski is already identifying the need to address the gap and pathways into the workforce.
Jackowski replaces Carolyn Knoepfler, who retired from her dean role this summer. NECC’s STEM Division offers more than a dozen degree and certificate programs across science, technology, engineering, computer and information science, and mathematics. Learn more by visiting the programs page on necc.edu.
