Gary Jacobs: Giving Back and Helping Others Get Ahead

By Laura Margoni

When Gary Jacobs, '79, was deciding which UC school he wanted to attend back in the mid 1970s, one of the reasons he selected UCSD was because it offered the major he wanted - Management Science. Another reason to attend UCSD: "After visiting several UC campuses, I decided I wanted to go to one of the smaller ones," he says.

One of the smaller ones?

Obviously, a lot has changed since Jacobs strolled through campus as a student, but one thing that hasn't changed is his commitment to the university and the community. Growing up as the oldest child of Qualcomm founder, Irwin Jacobs, Jacobs says he and his three brothers were brought up to understand that one is a member of the community. "We each have a responsibility to give back," he says, himself the father of four children, ages 9 to 19.

In the spirit of giving back, Jacobs, and his wife Jerri-Ann, have provided invaluable support to a variety of favorite causes, many of which focus on their big passion - education. Jacobs, the managing director of Jacobs Investment Company, LLC, and owner of a minor league baseball team, says it took him a long time to find out what he was passionate about. After graduating from UCSD, he worked in the software industry for years until he took a leave of absence to serve as president of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. There, he helped fundraise $15 million for the renovation and expansion of the center's existing facility. But, when he finished the project, he realized that he really enjoyed interacting with people - something he didn't get to do much as a software engineer - so he joined the human resources department at Qualcomm and started working with schools and school districts trying to keep students excited about math and science.

It was when he started working with students that Jacobs realized he enjoyed the field of education. One day, after he was asked to attend a meeting about defining a new high school education model in San Diego he discovered how important the field really was to him. "I was hooked," he says.

Jacobs' interest in education and his desire to give back to the community led him to found High Tech High, a tech-oriented charter school, and the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute (JITLI), a program that brings together American Jewish teenagers and Israeli Jewish, Palestinian and Arab teenagers to break barriers and build bonds that may help lead to greater understanding. Jacobs' spirit of philanthropy has also led him to give to a variety of organizations, including his alma mater. He and his wife just recently made a $1 million gift to the Division of Social Sciences in support of graduate fellowships. This latest contribution - the largest single gift ever made to the division by an alumnus - will support the Jerri-Ann and Gary E. Jacobs Endowed Fellowship, which was established in 1999.

"UCSD and the Social Sciences Division are important parts of the community from which I've benefited" he says. "It's essential that I provide resources back so others may have the same opportunities I had."

Spoken like a true philanthropist.

UCSD Receives Largest Social Sciences Gift from an Alumnus

In May 2006, the university announced that Jerri-Ann and Gary E. Jacobs (’79) made a $1 million gift to the Division of Social Sciences in support of graduate fellowships. The gift represents the largest single gift ever made to the division by an alumnus and is one of the most significant gifts ever made to the division by an individual.

UCSD competes with the best universities in the world for outstanding graduate students and fellowship support can weigh heavily in a student’s decision on which university to attend. The Jacobs’s recent contribution will support the Jerri-Ann and Gary E. Jacobs Endowed Fellowship, which was established in 1999. Click here for full story.

Dean’s Graduate Fellowships in Social Sciences

Recipients of the 2006-07 Ph.D. awards – arranged alphabetically by recipient's last name, followed by their departments and the name of the fellowship – are:

Marisa Brandt, Communication – Jacobs
Ryan Darby, Psychology – Jacobs
Kathryn Davidson, Linguistics – Dean's Fellow
William Dawley, Anthropology – Dean's Fellow
Diana Lewis, Sociology – Chancellor's Associates
Kit Myers, Ethnic Studies – Friends of Social Sciences
Eric Pukinskis, Cognitive Science – Chancellor's Associates
Alok Tandon, Economics – Koenigsberger