Dr. Irwin Jacobs and Mrs. Joan Jacobs - Click here to download high resolution version of the photo.

The Jacobs’ support for UCSD spans 20 years and totals $133.4 million, including $128.4 million to the Jacobs School. The couple provided a $15 million endowment and naming gift to the School of Engineering in 1997, as well as major gifts to the Shiley Eye Center and Stuart Collection.

The Jacobs’ gift was announced in conjunction with the public launch of The Campaign for UCSD, a $1 billion, seven-year fund-raising initiative that will end in June 2007. Irwin Jacobs is a co-chair of the campaign.

Dr. Irwin Jacobs Mrs. Joan Jacobs Frieder Seible, Jacobs School Dean

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and recipient of the President’s National Medal for Technology, Irwin Jacobs served on the UCSD engineering faculty from 1966 to 1972, and helped recruit faculty and build programs in electrical engineering and computer science.

“The love of learning is a core value for our family, and we are deeply committed to affordable and high quality education that is accessible to everyone,” said Mrs. Jacobs. “All four of our children chose to go to University of California schools because of the high caliber of education available there. But state and federal funding is insufficient to sustain the University’s standard of excellence in teaching and research. We, as a community, must support the precious resource that is the University of California.”

UCSD Chancellor Robert C. Dynes said of the gift: “The financial support provided by Irwin and Joan Jacobs has had an enormous impact on the Jacobs School’s ability to compete for and recruit the highest caliber of faculty and students, and to achieve an extraordinary level of excellence. Their new gift helps ensure that San Diego will continue to have one of the great engineering schools in the country.”

Part of the Jacobs’ $10 million current gift will support the Jacobs School Scholars and Fellows program, which the couple established in 2000. Through this program, the Jacobs School awards four-year scholarships to the most promising undergraduates, and first-year fellowships to the best graduate students, helping the School attract highly talented students to San Diego. Over the past three years, 28 scholarships and 37 fellowships have been awarded through the program.

The current funds will also be used to support faculty recruitment. The Jacobs School is midway through a 20 year growth phase, with plans to recruit 90 additional faculty by the end of the decade.

Sixty percent of the Jacobs’ $100 million planned gift will be unrestricted endowment, to be used at the discretion of the Dean of the Jacobs School for priorities such as faculty recruitment and retention. Twenty-five percent of the gift is intended for continuation of the Jacobs School Scholars and Fellows program. Approximately 15 percent of the planned gift will be used to create endowed chairs for faculty jointly appointed to the Jacobs School and UCSD’s new Management School, which was established in response to the growing need for strong management skills in the technology-driven California economy. The Management School will offer joint degree programs with the Jacobs School, as well as with the School of Medicine and Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.

“We are deeply grateful to Irwin and Joan Jacobs for their faith and investment in our faculty, students and staff. Their continued support inspires us to think big and gives us the confidence to reach for the stars,” said Frieder Seible, Dean of the Jacobs School. “Their gift accelerates the incredible forward momentum that characterizes the School and will allow us to sustain our leadership role among the best engineering schools in the nation for decades to come.”

In addition to their philanthropic support, Irwin and Joan Jacobs have been long-time advisors to UCSD. Joan Jacobs is vice-chair of the UC San Diego Foundation, a member of the International Advisory Committee for the Friends of the Stuart Collection, and co-founder, past president and board member of the Friends of the International Center. Irwin Jacobs serves on the Jacobs School Council of Advisors, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Advisory Board, and the Cancer Center Foundation Advisory Board.

About the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering
The UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering ranks among the top 15 engineering schools in the nation and is the youngest institution among the nation’s best. The School includes 160 faculty and approximately 5300 students enrolled through five academic departments: Bioengineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Structural Engineering. With $130 million in research support, the Jacobs School ranks second in the nation among engineering schools for research expenditures per faculty member. Bioengineering, communications, networking, information technology, earthquake engineering, materials and nanotechnology, and energy and the environment are among the School’s research strengths. Approximately150 companies partner with the Jacobs School through its research initiatives and Corporate Affiliates Program. Through its von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement, the Jacobs School proactively works to facilitate the commercialization of Jacobs School discoveries.