Business of Creative Enterprises Director Wes Jackson to leave college in July
June 12, 2022
Director of the Business of Creative Enterprises program Wes Jackson will leave Emerson in July to serve as president of the non-profit arts organization BRIC Arts & Media in Brooklyn, NY, according to a community-wide email sent Thursday afternoon.
Jackson joined the Emerson faculty as the director of BCE and senior executive-in-residence in January 2018. He helped create a Global Bachelor’s program in business of creative enterprises based at Franklin University Switzerland, providing graduates with a degree from Franklin and Emerson.
He led the development of a Masters in the Business of Creative Enterprises, which will launch in September. Jackson conceptualized an annual student-led business of creative enterprises conference in Boston and Los Angeles.
Jackson began his career producing concerts for Nas, The Roots, The Dave Matthews Band, The Fugees, and A Tribe Called Quest. He then started his own promotions company, Seven Heads Entertainment, and helped launch the careers of Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), Talib Kweli, El-P (Run The Jewels), Common, and others.
Jackson also founded the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival in 2005, which hosted Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Kendrick Lamar, among others. He later created The Bodega Agency, which produces the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and serves as a multifaceted media company.
In the email correspondence, Interim Provost Jan Roberts-Breslin described Jackson as “a valued member of our campus community.”
“While we are sad to see him go, we realize that this is a great opportunity for him and allows him to be closer to family,” Roberts-Breslin said. “We look forward to maintaining ties and to future collaborations.”