Linda K. Jacobs is former president and board chair of the Near East Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to urban and rural development in the Middle East and Africa. She is also the founder and sole trustee of the Violet Jabara Charitable Trust.

Previously, Dr. Jacobs was president of Middle East Technology Assistance, a nonprofit corporation. She was a graduate teaching fellow and instructor at the University of Oregon from 1974 to 1980.

Dr. Jacobs has been a trustee at NYU-Poly since 1992 and was elected trustee emerita in June 2011. She was a member of the following committees: Executive, Compensation and Human Resources, and Trustees and Development. Dr. Jacobs’ father, Dr. Joseph J. Jacobs ’37, ’39, ’42, Hon’86, was an NYU-Poly trustee emeritus and its most generous donor.

Linda Jacobs received a PhD in Near Eastern Archaeology/Anthropology from University of Oregon in 1980, a master’s degree in Anthropology from University of Oregon in 1974 and a bachelor’s degree in Art History from Cornell University in 1969.