CCRC Advisory Board Member

President, Macomb Community College

On July 1, 2008 Dr. James Jacobs became the fifth president of Macomb Community College in Michigan. Dr. Jacobs earned a bachelor of arts degree from Harpur College, Binghamton University, part of the State University of New York system, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University.  He previously served as the Associate Director for Community College Operations at the Community College Research Center (CCRC), and the Director of the Center for Workforce Development and Policy at Macomb Community College.

Dr. Jacobs is a national expert on workforce development and community colleges. He specializes in occupational change and technology, suburban economic development, occupational education, retraining displaced workers and conducting needs assessments for occupational programs. He is the Vice President for Partnerships and Collaborations for the National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE), a national postsecondary organization of occupational education and workforce development specialists. He has also been an advisor to several national foundations and community colleges on workforce development issues. He served on the Advisory Board of the congressionally mandated National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE).

Dr. Jacobs has conducted many specific examinations of community college programs at CCRC and for other organizations, such as the National Science Foundation and the Ford Foundation. He has also conducted major studies on the impact of new manufacturing technologies on skill requirements of firms both for the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor. He has authored several technical articles and papers in community college journals and has been a regular presenter at community college conferences and meetings. He is an editor of The Journal of Career and Technical Education.