Tonya Smith-Jackson

Tonya Smith-Jackson is an American human factors engineer and academic administrator. She assumed the position of chancellor of Rutgers University–Newark in August 2025. Smith-Jackson previously served as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at North Carolina A&T State University. Her career includes roles in academia at Virginia Tech, in government with the National Science Foundation, and in the corporate sector with IBM and Ericsson Mobile Communications.

Education Smith-Jackson graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, as part of its inaugural class. She earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also directed the Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Center. She also managed the establishment of three new Centers of Excellence in cybersecurity, product design and manufacturing, and entrepreneurship and innovation.

Research Smith-Jackson's research interests include cyber-human analytics, systems safety, cognitive ergonomics, and human factors. She co-edited the book Cultural Ergonomics: Theory, Methods, & Applications, published in 2013.