HKUST Business School Names Donald P. Jacobs Classroom

The School of Business and Management at HKUST has named a classroom after the late Kellogg Dean Emeritus Donald P. Jacobs in honor of his tremendous contributions to the renowned Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA (KH EMBA) Program.

As one of the founders of the KH EMBA Program and also founder of the Kellogg EMBA Global Network, Prof Donald Jacobs was Dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management from 1975 until 2001. Under his leadership, Kellogg partnered with HKUST to launch the first joint EMBA in Asia in 1998, and the Program rapidly ascended to become the No.1 EMBA program in the world. The named classroom manifests the vision of Dean Jacobs and the long-standing partnership between HKUST and Kellogg.

A ceremony was held on 8 July 2018. Among the guests at the ceremony were Mrs Annie Jacobs Kolb, daughter of Dean Jacobs; Prof Sally Blount, Dean of Kellogg School of Management; Prof Wei Shyy, Acting President of HKUST; Prof Sabrina Lin, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement; Prof Kar Yan Tam, Dean of HKUST Business School; Prof Steven DeKrey, Associate Dean of HKUST Business School; and donors of KH alumni and friends.

In recognition of the great legacy of Dean Jacobs, Prof DeKrey has initiated a fundraising campaign and the Donald P. Jacobs KH Alumni Award. The donation from the campaign will be used to strengthen the Program by attracting more quality candidates and encouraging a more diverse enrolment. As an added incentive, Mr Ming Mei (KH04 or Class of 2002), CEO and Co-Founder of Global Logistic Properties, has generously pledged to match all donations up to US$1 million.

“As the Campaign Chairman, I would like to thank the generous donation and staunch support from Mr Mei and all other KH alumni and supporters,” said Prof DeKrey, who is also the Founding Director of the KH EMBA Program. “Although Dean Jacobs is no longer with us, the lives that he touched and the institution that he built will be remembered far beyond him. The Program’s success would not be possible without the support of our alumni and friends. I hope their thoughtful donations will carry forward Don’s legacy.”

The Donald P. Jacobs KH Alumni Award fundraising campaign rallies the support from and beyond the community of the KH EMBA Program. In recognition of the generous donation, the classes with the highest number of participation and the highest amount of donation were announced at the Program’s 20th Anniversary Gala Dinner in Hong Kong on 7 July 2018.