After 33 years of service to the Department of Chemistry, Tony Jacob will retire at the end of the summer of 2023. Tony, the current Director of the Chemistry Learning Center, came to Madison as a graduate student in chemistry and received his Ph.D. in 1990 (Art Ellis, Advisor). He has contributed to the Department in many ways – through the Chemistry Learning Center, as a chemistry lecturer, in the Summer Enrichment Program for 7th-9th grade underrepresented students, working with high school AP chemistry teachers, and as a chemistry consultant for SOAR.
Tony is immensely grateful to have had the opportunity and privilege to work with so many wonderful colleagues and amazing students! He has found that his work has been personally enriching and rewarding, and he has been honored to meet so many inspiring people over the years. We wish him well as he explores new opportunities in retirement, and we will miss his dedication to helping students learn chemistry.
Tony earned a BS in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College in 1984 and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry. Tony has had a wide range of teaching experiences: He ran the Chemistry Peer Mentor Tutor Program, worked with the National Institute for Science Education’s (NISE) College Level One Team, and lectured in the UW-Madison Chemistry Department and at Beloit College. He worked as a science demonstrator doing hands-on activities in the K-12 system, has done K-8 in-service teacher workshops, and was a Scientist in Resident in 1992 with the Stoughton School District.
Tony was inducted into the UW-Madison’s Teaching Academy in 1996, and honored in 1999 with the Student Personnel Association’s (SPA) Norman Bassett Award for Outstanding Student Services. In 2002, he received the Letters & Science Academic Staff Mid-Career Achievement Award, and in 2017 the Judith S. Craig Distinguished Service Award. He received student recognition with a University Housing Honored Instructor Recognition Award (2011), an Academic Advancement Program Certificate of Appreciation (AAP Scholar, 2013), the Posse Lifelong Gratitude Award (Posse Scholar, 2014), the Center for Educational Opportunities Dr. Brenda Pfaehler Award of Excellence (CeO Scholar, 2016), and the First Wave Excellence Award (First Wave Scholars, 2017).