Education Leader With Nationwide Impact

UA Alumni Association
Oct. 16, 2015

For his inspiring career in education leadership, driving progress in Arizona and far beyond, the University of Arizona College of Education has named Warren Jacobson its 2015 Alumnus of the Year.

Warren Jacobson was born in New York and was excited when given the opportunity to make the University of Arizona's baseball team as a walk-on. He classified himself as a No. 6 pitcher on a five-man rotation.

Luckily, he had other skills.

Jacobson was hired by the Glendale Union High School District after graduating with a degree in secondary education. He was a teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent during his 30 year career with the district. He fostered a belief in continuous improvement in every role in which he served. His contributions to the district and his participation in organizations and task forces effecting national education policies and practices have been significant.

After his retirement from the district, Jacobson served as a consultant for AdvancED, a national K-12 accreditation organization for schools and districts. AdvancED offered him the role as Vice president of accreditation after he served as a consultant for two years. In this role, he managed the accreditation process for schools and districts pursuing AdvancED accreditation throughout the country. He also helped manage accreditation visits in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Central America for schools pursuing AdvancED accreditation. As he had in Glendale, he revised and refined processes to promote improvement.

Jacobson now lives on a farm in Tennessee with his wife, Jackie. He has aspirations for growing grapes to help diversify the wine varieties produced by local wineries. He acknowledges that “other adventures and journeys are still on the horizon.”

The UA Alumni Association will honor all recipients of the 2015 Alumni of the Year Awards during an Oct. 23 event to be held 3-5 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Student Union Memorial Center. For more information, contact the Alumni Association at 520-621-7576.

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