Murray Jackson, a poet and retired college professor who served as a member of the Wayne State Board of Governors for 20 years, resigned from the board Nov. 12 in a letter to Michigan Governor John Engler.

His colleagues on the Board of Governors, meeting today at the University's Oakland Center in Farmington Hills, issued a Statement of Appreciation, endowed a scholarship in his name, appointed him as Governor Emeritus and approved the award to Jackson of an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Most of Jackson's life was devoted to higher education, the board wrote.

A graduate of Wayne State with bachelor's (1954) and master's (1956) degrees, he began his career here as an academic advisor in the College of Liberal Arts. He later would be appointed founding president of Wayne County Community College beginning in 1968, then joined the University of Michigan (U-M) as acting director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education. He served at U-M from 1971 until his appointment as Emeritus Associate Professor of Urban Higher Education in 1992.

Jackson was first elected to the board in statewide elections in 1980, taking his seat Jan. 23, 1981.

"Murray joined us during difficult times, a time of drastic budget reductions by the State, and eventually the Board approved a loan facility of $30 million to get us through those difficult budget years," the board said. He helped make the difficult decisions of those days and "rarely missed a meeting" during the next 20 years.

He was re-elected to the board in 1988 and 1996.

In their tribute, his fellow governors concluded, "Murray has been our conscience throughout his tenure on the Board...He urged us to remember that we are here for the students, and he stressed the importance of the faculty and the impact of our decisions on the student body."

Especially active in writing circles in recent years, Jackson is resident poet and workshop leader at the Detroit Public Library. His published works include Watermelon Rinds and Cherry Pits, published by Broadside Press, and his most recent, selections in New Poems from the Third Coast, published by the Wayne State University Press.

Jackson's term on the board, which was scheduled to conclude at the end of 2004, will be filled by appointment of Gov. Engler.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 14 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.