TROY — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson has had her contract extended through June 2022, putting her on track to be the school’s second-longest serving leader behind Palmer Ricketts who was in office for 33 years in the early 20th century.

Jackson, hired in 1999, is credited with a number of successes at the school including a $1.4 billion capital campaign, a record number of applicants and a reconfiguring of the traditional two-semester study system.

“As a result of her vision, guidance, and leadership for the past approximately 20 years, much has been undertaken and accomplished. The campus has been refreshed and, in many ways, rebuilt,” Board of Trustees Chairman Arthur Golden said in a letter Thursday announcing the contract re-extension.

“We also will continue to benefit from the leadership of a president whose accomplishments in the business world and government — in addition to academia (which include the National Medal of Science) — have greatly expanded and enhanced recognition of Rensselaer in all areas and among the many audiences where our students and graduates compete,” Golden wrote.

Jackson has been controversial, though, for what critics have said is a high-handed management style and for moves such as the temporary freeze she placed earlier in the year on fraternity recruiting, following reports of problems at some of the Greek houses.

“I’m certainly not happy about it,” said William Jameson, an alumnus who has criticized her handling of fraternities. “It seems like she’s just becoming a dictator.”

Others, including some students, noted that the announcement came during finals week when few had the time to make a fuss. One note on an internet chat board said students were planning a demonstration in January to protest some of Jackson’s policies. Additionally, a group of dissident alumni, Renew Rensselaer, has been started to question some of Jackson’s moves including what they contend is the stifling of dissent.

Jackson drew criticism in 2017 when her administration moved to take control of the school’s student union, which coordinates and funds the wide variety of extracurricular activities at the school.

Despite the protests, RPI is still viewed as a top engineering and scientific school that is among the nation’s most competitive. And its finances are A3 stable according to Moody’s rating service.

Prior to RPI, Jackson was president of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and was the first African American woman to earn a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a physicist by training.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, she was the 22nd highest paid college president in the U.S. in 2016, with a pay package of $1.45 million.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the bond rating for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institutes. Moody's Investors Service rates RPI's bond rating at A3.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU