Vivian Jackson ’60 Gives in the Present and for the Future

Dr. Vivian (Ivery) Jackson ’60 grew up on Chicago’s West Side attending public schools. She originally planned on going to community college and becoming a teacher. Her high school French teacher, Ms. Olive Mazurek—a 1929 graduate of Rosary College—encouraged her to focus her sights on a high-caliber college education. She went so far as to make an appointment for Vivian to meet with Sister Mary Fredericus, then president of Rosary. “I would not have attended Rosary without their encouragement and support,” says Vivian.

After graduating from Rosary with her BA in history, Vivian earned her MA in educational administration and a PhD in counselor education and enjoyed a long and fruitful career in educational administration.

Now retired, Vivian recently informed Dominican that she has included the university in her estate plan. She realized “that I might want to give a portion of my bequest now, while I’m able to see the impact of my giving,” she says. “Taking advantage of the IRA charitable rollover allowed me to begin an endowed scholarship in my lifetime.” The Vivian Ivery Jackson Endowed Scholarship will provide assistance for traditionally underrepresented minorities demonstrating academic promise and financial need. “Because I made the gift directly from my IRA, I was able to take my annual required minimum tax-free,” she says.

“The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve come to appreciate what an important, lifelong impact my years at Rosary have had on me—both personally and professionally,” she says. “I also just wanted to give back for all that I’d been given.”

Vivian encourages fellow alumnae/i to consider “their Rosary experience and the impact it had on so many aspects of their lives, the school’s long commitment to educational excellence and the liberal arts, and,” she emphasizes, “the obligation of all of us to give to those in need.”