Our Team

Background

Michael Jacobson serves as the executive director of the Office of Strategic Research Initiatives. He oversees team development and research development activities related to large external proposals in this role. He also advises faculty on broader impacts planning as part of research development.

Jacobson’s interest in broader impacts is an outgrowth of his experience in outreach and community engagement activities related to his archaeological research. He previously served as a principal investigator at Binghamton University’s Public Archaeology Facility, directing cultural resource management projects and aiding in strategies for historic preservation. He developed research collaborations with descendant communities and other stakeholders as part of this research. Jacobson has published articles on strategies for community-engaged research; this includes his contribution to a book chapter in Communities of Ludlow that discusses methods and strategies for engaging with community groups, specifically descendant community groups, and education programs with a focus on community memory, stewardship, history and historical archaeology. Jacobson has also served as an invited speaker to AESIS and served on panels related to research impacts in arts and humanities. He serves on the ARIS leadership team.

He holds a doctorate and master’s degree in anthropology from Binghamton University and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Fort Lewis College in Colorado.