Gift names the Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health

Read the full story by Robin Roger in the Cornell Chronicle.

A foundational gift has endowed and named the Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health in the College of Human Ecology (CHE), expanding Cornell’s portfolio of research and programs in the emerging field of precision nutrition.

A gift totaling $25 million from Irwin M. Jacobs ’54, BEE ’56 and the Jacobs family includes a new $15 million commitment, adding to a $10 million commitment in 2023 that helped establish the center. The naming honors Joan Klein Jacobs ’54, a devoted Cornell Human Ecology alumna and lifelong advocate for nutrition and health who died in May at the age of 91.

“Joan was always passionate about the health and well-being of others, and this center is a fitting tribute to her legacy,” Irwin Jacobs said. “Our family believes that the work being done at Cornell in precision nutrition will have a significant global impact, and we are honored to support this critical research.”

The gift will endow core support and discretionary resources for the new Human Ecology center, including funding for postdoctoral fellowships, faculty innovation grants, experiential learning funds for students and other opportunities to enhance interdisciplinary expertise and collaboration across Cornell’s Ithaca, Cornell Tech and Weill Cornell Medicine campuses.

“This inspiring gift in honor of Joan will enhance Cornell’s long-standing renown in nutritional sciences,” said Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff. “This funding will accelerate research in a critical and underfunded area, invest in the next generation of exceptional scientists working on the science of nutrition, and expose students to a field with ever-increasing importance to human health.”