[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 98 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S4017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING JOAN JACOBS

 Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the life 
of Joan Jacobs, who passed away on May 6 at the age of 91. Through her 
philanthropic efforts, Joan spent decades improving the educational, 
technological, and cultural landscape of San Diego. Joan Jacobs was 
born on January 17, 1933, in New York City. She attended Cornell 
University, where she received her bachelor of science degree in 1954. 
That same year, she would meet her husband of 70 years, Irwin Jacobs. 
The couple soon made San Diego their adopted home after Irwin accepted 
a job at the small engineering school taking shape at UC San Diego. 
Years later, Irwin cofounded Qualcomm, which has become one of the 
largest employers in the region.
  Joan and Irwin began to use their resources to uplift the arts, 
education, and so many other important causes in San Diego. To this 
day, San Diegans cannot travel far without feeling the incredible 
impact that Joan Jacobs left on the region.
  In 2002, Joan and Irwin donated $120 million to the once-bankrupt San 
Diego Symphony, allowing it to thrive and once again contribute to the 
cultural footprint of San Diego.
  Additionally, the history of UC San Diego cannot be fully told 
without highlighting the remarkable impact Joan made on its campus. The 
Jacobs family has infused over $125 million into the UC San Diego 
School of Engineering. Today, the aptly named Irwin and Joan Jacobs 
School of Engineering is one of the top engineering schools in the 
country and boasts the highest enrollment of engineering students on 
the West Coast. Joan and Irwin also provided $100 million to help 
develop the Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego, which has become one 
of the finest teaching hospitals in the country and provides critical 
specialized care to San Diegans.
  So many other organizations across San Diego have been the 
beneficiaries of Joan's generosity, including the San Diego Central 
Library, the La Jolla Playhouse, the Museum of Contemporary Art San 
Diego, the Salk Institute, and the San Diego Food Bank.
  Joan Jacobs has had an immeasurable impact on the city she loved and 
the community she served, and her legacy will be felt for generations 
to come. My heartfelt sympathies go out to my friend and colleague, 
Representative Sara Jacobs, and the entire Jacobs family. I hope my 
colleagues will join me in celebrating the extraordinary life of Joan 
Jacobs.

                          ____________________