B.S., California State University; M.S., California State University; Ph.D., University of Texas
Bette Jacobs is Professor, Health Systems Administration; Distinguished Scholar and co-founder at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law; and a Fellow and Visiting Professor at Campion Hall University of Oxford. A Native American whose body of work spans community, academic, service, and corporate leadership, she is recognized for contributions in successful start-ups, financial integrity, and interdisciplinary innovations. She served with distinction as Dean for the Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies for 11 years overseeing unprecedented programmatic growth within the University. Previous executive experience includes vice presidency for Honda of America Manufacturing; founding faculty member and Associate Director of Applied Research at the Civitan International Research Center; and Acting Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at California State University. Dr. Jacobs’ extraordinary cross-disciplinary and cross- sector leadership has fostered innovation and improved systems. Her personal and professional activities emanate from crossing childhood cultural boundaries triangulating a colonized, missionized tribal history through pathways in education, business, and service. Strong cultural roots anchor and animate her work to advance the common good with practical abilities to do so. Dr. Jacobs is a scholar skilled in operations. She established enduring innovative models in business and education and sorted or refined programs in both. Dr. Jacobs has published numerous articles and chapters including “Bridging the Divide Between Genomic Science and Indigenous People” in the Journal of Legal and Medical Education, hosted a colloquium featuring the US Health and Human Service position statement on Personalized Medicine, and has testified before Congress. Her honors include ceremonial/commencement recognition at Heritage College on the Yakima Indian Reservation, Chang Gung University in Taiwan, Anhui University in China, and James Cook University in Australia. She has designed and implemented corporate safety, human resource, construction, and efficiency projects using best-in-class quality standards. Dr. Jacobs has presented at the Institute of Medicine, the American Statistical Association, EUWHO for medical students at the World Health Organization, and for wide variety of management meetings associated with health, engineering, and culture. She served as expert panel member for reports to shape policy for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, and National Academy of Science. She chaired NIH study sections and consulted on the design and launch of process engineering and for imaging facilities. She has mentored students and fellows in many fields in places as representative as Wyoming, Texas, England, China, and Japan. Dr. Jacobs is long time member of organizations such as the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in to Science, work groups such as the International Group on Indigenous Health Measurement, and served on Boards ranging from Environmental Health and Safety to Reading is Fundamental. Dr. Jacobs has been involved with social entrepreneurship throughout her career. Her current scholarship and teaching on non-profit governance incorporates the entire scope of a diverse and unique experience. Since her sabbatical at Oxford University, this body of work reflects deeper understanding of the British Charity Model that shaped the foundation used for US and International aid. She has pursed areas where harmony across non-profit, public, and commercial sectors contribute to improving the human condition. In addition, her research is informed by political theory, Jesuit Catholic values, and the Honda philosophy and focuses on the non-profit sector as a primary vehicle for the common good.