Jacob named a Vision and Change Leadership Fellow

September 23, 2012

Oxford associate professor of biology Nitya Jacob has been named to a selective group recently announced by the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE).  The 40 Vision and Change Leadership Fellows will identify and consider how to eliminate barriers to the systemic changes needed to improve undergraduate life sciences education.

In response Jacob says, "I am honored to be selected as a PULSE Vision and Change Leadership Fellow and excited to have the opportunity of working with a group of dedicated leaders across the nation.  I am passionate about the national initiative of implementing widespread change in undergraduate life sciences education.  Through the work of PULSE, I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues at Oxford and Emory Colleges to expand and enhance student-centered learning approaches in our biology courses, especially at the introductory level.  I am also eager to rally more colleagues, including those at other institutions, to join the PULSE community so, together, we can pursue a transformation of undergraduate biology education."

PULSE is a joint initiative of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health.  The effort supports a yearlong program in which Vision and Change Leadership Fellows consider and then recommend models for improving undergraduate life sciences education.

"The fellows represent a diverse group of extremely capable faculty," said NSF's Judith Verbeke. "They bring a variety of experiences that will inform the development of an implementation framework that will transform undergraduate education in the life sciences."

The fellows were competitively selected by an expert panel for their experience in catalyzing reform in undergraduate biology education.  After evaluating more than 250 applications, the PULSE steering committee made its selection.  The Vision and Change Leadership fellows come from 24 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands and represent research universities, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive/regional universities, and two-year colleges.

This is Jacobs' second recent prestigious honor, following her being named by the journal Science in March 2012 as one of only 15 recipients of its Inquiry-Based Instruction Prize.

Jacob is a graduate of Agnes Scott College, where she received a BA degree in biology.  She received a PhD degree in horticulture and crop science from the Ohio State University.  She directs Oxford's Summer Undergraduate Research (SURE) program.

A complete list of the Vision and Change Leadership Fellows and more information about PULSE can be found at www.pulsecommunity.org