Congratulations to Dr. Ronald L. Jacobs, professor of human resource development in the department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, who has been inducted into the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) Scholar Hall of Fame. Jacobs will be honored at the AHRD Annual Conference in Atlanta on February 28, 2020.
His nominators, from the University of Minnesota, cited Jacobs as a leading figure from the beginning of modern-day HRD until today. Specifically, his nominators pointed toward Jacobs' introduction of structured on-the-job training (S-OJT), the globalization of HRD, helping to develop the AHRD as an organization, Jacobs' numerous scholarly publications, and his mentorship of graduate students as accomplishments that made him an ideal member of the HRD Scholar Hall of Fame.
Jacob’s current research topics of interest include knowledge work, formal learning in the work setting, employee competence, and adapting HRD practices to the societal level. He has written over 100 journal articles and book chapters and has authored or edited six books that address a broad range of topics in the human resource development field. His current work investigates how to address the development issues of knowledge workers.
In his 40 years serving at three universities, Jacobs has graduated more than 300 master's and 68 doctoral students, 38 of whom serve as professors around the world.