Richard M. Jacobs
Professor
Department of Education and Human Services
Master of Arts in Public Administration Program

VITA
(Current as of )

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Richard M. Jacobs is a Professor of Education and Counseling as well as Public Administration at Villanova University. A native of Chicago, Jacobs served for nearly two decades in Catholic middle and secondary schools as a teacher and administrator prior undertaking his work in Catholic higher education. Since coming to Villanova University in 1991, where he earned the rank of Associate Professor in 1996, tenure in 1998, and Full Professor in 2006, Jacobs has studied higher educational administration during the 1996 and 1997 academic years as Assistant to the President of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Richard M. Jacobs has earned master’s degrees in theology and divinity from Catholic Theological Union as well as a master’s degree in theology from the Maryknoll School of Theology. His study of educational leadership culminated in a master’s and doctor of philosophy degrees awarded by the University of Tulsa.

A nationally and internationally recognized authority on Catholic education, Richard M. Jacobs serves as a consultant to schools and dioceses throughout the United States. A former member of the United States Catholic Conference Committee on Education, he produced Renewing the Heritage, the nation’s first distance learning program of formative training for aspiring and practicing Catholic school principals. In addition to his work on behalf of Catholic schooling, Jacobs has also served as President of the Pennsylvania Council on Educational Administration and as Chair of the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group, Teaching in Educational Administration.

Along with his service and teaching activities, Jacobs is also active in research and publication. He has authored several books and monographs including five highly regarded volumes, The Vocation of the Catholic Educator, The Grammar of Catholic Schooling, Authority and Decision Making in Catholic Schools, Building Spiritual Leadership Density in Catholic Schools, and Formative Discourse in Catholic Schools. Over the years, Jacobs has served as a contributing author to the National Council of Professors of Education 2007 Yearbook, the Association of Teacher Educators Yearbook III, the Catholic University of America/Lilly Foundation study, The Catholic Character of Catholic Schools, Augustine and Liberal Education, the National Catholic Educational Association volume, Catholic Schools Still Make a Difference: Ten Years of Research (1991-2000), and Urban Catholic Education. His articles and reviews have appeared in numerous professional journals, including the Journal of Catholic Higher Education, Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, Educational Administration Quarterly, NCEA’s Momentum, the Journal of Structural Learning, Journal of Management Systems, and Teachers College Record. Jacobs is editor of the NCEA’s monograph series, Catholic Educational Leadership, has served as guest editor of the Journal of Management Systems, and is frequently cited in national publications, including Education Week.

In 1994, Jacobs was selected as the 12th United States Catholic Conference Seton-Neumann laureate. Laureates have included: the late-United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett, and Professors John Chubb and Diane Ravitch.