Jackie Jacobs is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University (MSU). She received a PhD from the University of Guelph in the areas of epidemiology, animal behavior, and animal welfare science. She also holds a MS and BS in Animal Science from Michigan State University and the University of New Hampshire, respectively. After a two-year post-doc at Purdue University, she joined the faculty at MSU and spearheaded the first companion animal program in the Department of Animal Science.
In her role at MSU, Dr. Jacobs teaches several courses on companion animal biology and management, animal welfare science, and coaches a judging team. She has two active research programs, one focused on companion animal behavior and welfare and the other on the scholarship of teaching and learning. She strives to be innovative and explore best practices for teaching and student engagement, and in recognition of her efforts received the 2023 MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) New Teacher award, and the 2023 North American Colleges and Teachers in Agriculture (NACTA) Educator award. She is looking forward to the next year as a Lilly Fellow, learning from her colleagues and exploring ways to make scholarship of teaching and learning research more easily accessible to other faculty, staff, and students.