Darren Jackson elected chair of Marquette University Board of Trustees

A business executive with strong retail and financial experience has been elected chair of the Marquette University Board of Trustees.  Darren R. Jackson, president and chief executive of Advance Auto Parts, succeeds Mary Ellen Stanek, managing director and director of asset management at Robert W. Baird & Company, who served as chair for three years. 

A 1986 graduate of the Marquette’s College of Business Administration, Jackson became a trustee in 2004 and was elected vice chair in 2006. 

“The breadth of Darren’s business experience and his financial acumen are important assets to our Board of Trustees,” Marquette President Robert A. Wild, S.J., said. “He has a strong belief in data-driven progress and exemplifies the Marquette mission of service to others.”

Advance Auto Parts is a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items headquartered in Roanoke, Va. The company serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets with more than 3,200 stores in 40 states.

Jackson joined Advance Auto Parts in January 2008 after serving as an executive with Best Buy, Carson Pirie Scott and Nordstrom’s. He has been recognized as one of the "most admired CFOs in America" by Institutional Investor Magazine, and CFO Magazine named him one of the top 20 young chief financial officers likely to shape the profession. 

New trustee elected

Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., president of The University of Scranton, was elected to the Marquette Board of Trustees.  A graduate of Georgetown University with master’s degrees from Fordham University and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and a Ph.D. in English from City University of New York, Pilarz has served on the faculties of Georgetown, St. Joseph’s University, Ss. Peter & Paul Seminary and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Pilarz is the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities representative to the American Council on Education board of directors. He also serves on the boards of Boston College; the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania; the Scranton Preparatory School; Scranton Tomorrow; and as president of the board of Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill, N.J., from which he graduated. Pilarz also served from 2005 to 2008 on the State Ethics Commission for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.