The University of Toledo

Dr. Lloyd A. Jacobs - 16th President of The University of Toledo

University of Toledo President Lloyd A. Jacobs, M.D., is leading a vigorous process of growth and transformation to establish a new vision, a new identity and a new level of educational quality and excellence at the University.

He began his appointment as the University's 16th president in July 2006, when the former Medical University of Ohio, which he headed for approximately three years, and UT merged, perhaps the most significant event in higher education in Ohio in the last 50 years, and he was selected to lead the merged universities.

The strategic plan approved by the Board of Trustees in April 2007, "Directions," articulates UT's mission, vision and set of institutional core values and sets out goals to be met in order to establish University of Toledo as one of the great public metropolitan research universities in the world.

Under his leadership, the University, which operates three campuses and has an annual operating budget of more than $700 million, has enjoyed tremendous momentum, experiencing enrollment growth in the last three years to more than 22,000 students.

President Jacobs has worked to strengthen undergraduate education, graduate and professional education and scholarship, research, and service across UT's 10 professional colleges; to make the University more, affordable, accessible, sustainable and student-centered; and to encourage exploration how UT can create collaborative programs and synergies involving the arts, humanities, science, technology and other fields.

The University has recruited a diverse student body and faculty, strengthened patient-care programs at UT Medical Center, focused on improving the learning and living environments on and near campus and earned several key institutional accreditations. He has further integrated the University's intercollegiate athletic programs into campus life, secured contract agreements with several University employee bargaining units, celebrated successful completion of the largest capital fund campaign in the University's history that obtained more than $106 million, and entered into research and educational agreements with universities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Cranes have pierced UT's skyline during his administration as the University has invested more than $200 million to construct new buildings and to renovate existing academic buildings, classrooms and athletic venues. Particularly noteworthy are the $30 million renovation of Savage Arena, the $27 million facelift of Memorial Field House into faculty offices and classrooms, the new Orthopedic Center on Health Science Campus and the soon-to-be-completed Savage and Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement and UT Medical Center Heart & Vascular Center. These are in addition to a number of other academic, research and student-life enhancements that were completed over the past two years on the University's Main, Scott Park and Health Science campuses.

At the same time, he has championed access to higher education for students from middle-and low-income families through a tuition freeze at UT in the 2007-2008 school year and generous financial-aid packages offered through the "UT Guarantee" program.  Additionally, he has made it a top priority to catapult UT in technology and sciences, focusing particularly on the University's longstanding international leadership in solar and alternative-energy research.

The University and the City of Toledo have developed an effective partnership to improve neighborhoods and expand commercial activity near Main Campus, and the University is working to increase the number of new local companies based on UT research through the University's Science, Technology and Innovation Enterprises.

President Jacobs became the sixth president of the Medical College of Ohio — later renamed Medical University of Ohio — in November 2003. Prior to coming to Toledo, he was chief operating officer of the University of Michigan Health System, one of the largest systems in the country, senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Michigan Medical School. He also held a faculty appointment as professor of surgery. A native of Holland, Mich., President Jacobs, following graduation from high school, served four years on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, receiving an honorable discharge in 1962. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1965 from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and an M.D. degree in 1969 from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. He completed surgery residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, University of California at San Diego Hospital and Wayne State University Hospital in Detroit.

A vascular surgeon, Dr. Jacobs began his career in academic medicine at Wayne State in 1974, staying there for 15 years. He is the author of six book chapters and of more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed medical and scientific publications such as Journal of Vascular Surgery, Surgery, and American Surgeon, and has been a featured speaker at dozens of national medical and scientific meetings on topics such as vascular disease, managed care, medical leadership, measuring quality in health care and quality assurance. President Jacobs is a member of numerous professional surgical societies and is a past president of the Academy of Surgery of Detroit.

President Jacobs currently serves as a member of the Mid-American Conference Council of Presidents and is a member of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, the Regional Growth Partnership, Toledo Chamber of Commerce, Inter-University Council of Ohio, Ohio State Medical Association, Academy of Medicine of Toledo and Lucas County, American College of Surgeons and the Society for Vascular Surgery.

He and his wife, Ola, are the parents of two adult children.