CWU Remembers Eldon Jacobsen

October 24, 2003

ELLENSBURG, Wash.-- Dr. Eldon E. "Jake" Jacobsen, professor emeritus of psychology at Central Washington University, passed away Oct. 9 at Royal Vista Care Center in Ellensburg. Jacobsen joined the Central Washington College of Education (CWCE) faculty in 1950 beginning a 35-year career of distinguished teaching, scholarship and service.

Jacobsen, 83, was born Feb. 1, 1920, in Heber, Utah, and was raised in a university family. His father, Ernest, was chair of the psychology department at Utah State University, in Logan. Jacobsen received his bachelor's degree, in 1941, and master's degree, in 1943, in psychology at Utah State and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1955.

Jacobsen is credited with promoting Washington's first professional standards for psychologists, culminating in legislated licensure standards in 1955. On the appointment of the governor, he served with the state's board of professional examiners from the 1950s through the '80s.

In 1967, Jacobsen took a professional leave year to study and work at the Devereux Foundation, a leading treatment center for developmental disabilities. This work sharpened his focus on the learning difficulties in children and the profession of school psychology.

The elite American Board of Professional Psychologists elected Jacobsen to membership in 1971. He also held leadership positions in the American Psychological Association, the Washington State Psychological Association, the Washington Education Association, the Washington State Association of School Psychologists and the Washington Mental Health Association.

Jacobsen's dedication to the social mission of psychologists resulted in his service on dozens of committees and governing boards of mental health, school counseling and school psychology associations and agencies.

Jacobsen's career brought him into academic administration in the 1960s. He was chair of the department of psychology from 1962 to 1966, during the time that it became separate from the department of education. He also served as acting dean of the faculty in 1968.

Jacobsen played a part in the education of thousands of students. He directed more than a hundred master's theses and taught most of the courses in the psychology curriculum at one time or another.

Following his retirement in 1985, Jacobsen continued to teach occasional courses until 1989 and he remained active in psychological association affairs until recently.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth "Betty" (Busby) Jacobsen.