Irwin M. Jacobs School dedicated in ceremony and ribbon cutting

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The Irwin M. Jacobs Elementary School was dedicated today in a ceremony that included music, remarks and a ribbon cutting. With the school’s namesake, Irwin M. and Joan Jacobs in attendance, students along with city and state officials conducted the brief program. Afterward, students greeted their guests and returned to their classes for this regular but memorable school day.

“The new Irwin M. Jacobs Elementary School is a state-of-the-art learning environment for New Bedford students, and it’s the school that our kids deserve,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell. “It is a special honor to have Irwin Jacobs here to officially dedicate the school in his name. His lifetime of extraordinary achievements and his continued generosity to benefit the education of the children of his hometown will inspire current and future students to aspire to be like Irwin: to work hard, dream big, and give back.”

Dr. Pia Durkin noted “Our Jacobs students have chosen a great name for their team – the Innovators! That name aptly reflects Joan and Irwin Jacobs’s enthusiasm for lifelong learning, trying new things and a commitment to improving the lives of others. Here in this beautiful new school, students will be introduced to STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math. All are interlinked, and some intimately so, like math and music. Jacobs students will learn this by doing, in the school’s state-of-the-art piano lab and music room, which is made possible by the Lang Lang Foundation; we thank them and Joan, for her musical guidance on this incredible addition to our school.”

Addressing the students in the assembly, Dr. Jacobs noted “the future is very bright and this school offers so much for all of you. But the key is to continue your education. You’re going to get a very good foundation here, but do plan to go on to high school and then to college, where you will find the areas of that are exciting to you and pursue it.”

Other speakers included Massachusetts Representative Antonio F. D. Cabral, 13th Bristol District – New Bedford, James MacDonald, CEO, Massachusetts School Building Authority, and Jacobs School Principal, Kerry Kennedy.

The program also included a performance by the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra.

The school’s dedication was originally planned for January but postponed due to snow and rescheduled to coincide with the Jacobs’ May visit to the city.

The 74,000 square foot building, which occupies the site of the former John Hannigan School in the city’s South End, features a modern contextual design by Turowski2 Architecture, Inc., one that celebrates with vibrant colors a youthful sense of discovery and the excitement of learning. The $37 million project is offset by an 80% reimbursement coming from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The City of New Bedford’s $14 million contribution included the demolition of the old school, which was structurally deficient. The Jacobs School library is named in honor of John Hannigan.

Constructed on the site of the former school, which is bordered by Emma, Emery and Freeman Streets, the Irwin Jacobs Elementary School will serve an estimated 400 students from Kindergarten through Grade 5. It will offer a sweeping view of Clark’s Cove and will include spacious modern classrooms, a 21st century library/media center, SPARKS Science Lab, rooftop garden, community reading room, piano lab, full-size indoor gym, two Pre-K classrooms, parent resource room, outdoor basketball courts, and nautical-themed playground, among other features.

About the Irwin M. Jacobs School Piano Lab

The Irwin Jacobs Elementary School Piano Lab is a unique addition to the school and is made possible by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation Keys of Inspiration™ grant. Keys of Inspiration™ (KOI), part of the GRAMMY™ Music Education Coalition, is an innovative program designed to revolutionize what music education looks like in American public schools. Created to inspire change from within, KOI weaves rigorous, keyboard-centric, musical instruction into selected Title 1 public schools’ mandatory curriculum––integrating group piano classes for Grades 2-5, twice a week.

The piano lab was donated by LLIMF Board Directors Joan and Irwin Jacobs. The Grammy-nominated, internationally-renowned pianist Lang Lang, has been supporting children through music for over a decade. Keys of Inspiration™ aims to encourage students to create music, and through music, help them find a secure space where they can freely be and believe in themselves.

In addition to the permanent piano lab with 30 state-of-the-art electric Roland pianos, the school will receive a musical curriculum designed by Lang Lang himself, supplemental training and ongoing support for the music teachers, access to the Keys of Inspiration™ Educators Network and Resource Library, and technical support for three years.

About Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs

Born in 1933, Dr. Jacobs grew up in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. The son of a small restaurant owner, he attended the then-Mt. Pleasant Elementary School and New Bedford High School where he played football. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University, and Master and Doctor of Science Degrees from MIT, where he was an electrical engineering professor from 1959-1966. While at MIT, Dr. Jacobs co-authored a textbook on digital communications, which remains in use in college classrooms today. From 1966 to 1972, he served as professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California, San Diego.

The holder of some fourteen patents, Dr. Jacobs has spent a career translating scientific theory into business ideas. While teaching at UCSD, he founded a company called LINKABIT Corporation, which spearheaded the development of Very Small Aperture Earth Terminals and the satellite-to-home television. It was during this period that he led a team of researchers that worked on one of the three networks that participated in the first demonstrations of the Internet.

Dr. Jacobs is perhaps best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Qualcomm, the company that pioneered “Code Division Multiple Access” or “CDMA” technology, a breakthrough that led to the explosion of cellular telephone use around the world over the last twenty-five years. The technology is the basis of all third-generation cellular networks which deliver broadband Internet access to over 2.2 billion customers, and the company is the leader in supplying fourth-generation service. Qualcomm has become the world’s largest semiconductor supplier for mobile devices, with over 30,000 employees worldwide.

Dr. Jacobs has been awarded seven honorary doctorates, and numerous industry, education, and business awards. He has chaired the Board of Trustees of the Salk Institute since 2006, was chair of the National Academy of Engineering from 2008 to 2012, and has served on the advisory board of several research institutions. In 1994, he received the National Medal of Technology Award, the highest award bestowed by the President of the United States for extraordinary achievements in the commercialization of technology.

In retirement, Joan and Irwin Jacobs have distinguished themselves as two of America’s leading philanthropists, particularly in the area of education. They have joined the “Giving Pledge,” an initiative launched by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage billionaires to give away most of their wealth to philanthropic causes. In the last fifteen years, Dr. and Mrs. Jacobs have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the likes of the Salk Institute, Cornell University, UCSD, and the San Diego Symphony, among others.

About Michael Silvia

Served 20 years in the United States Air Force. Owner of New Bedford Guide.

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