Dr. Jacobsen is the Director of Forensics and University Forum at the University of Oregon and a career NTTF member of the Robert D. Clark Honors College faculty.
A product of Eugene schools and an Oregon alum (’02), Jacobsen holds a doctorate in Information Science (’14) from the University of Michigan School of Information. At Michigan he was the lead or secondary author on papers published in Archival Science, Government Information Quarterly, and Computer Supported Cooperative Work.
Jacobsen’s dissertation The Identity of Evidence: Documentary Evidence in the Federal Acknowledgement Process analyzes the use and interpretation of documentary evidence in an administrative proceeding the Office of Federal Acknowledgment uses to determine whether petitioning American Indian groups merit tribal status under federal law.
His work at Michigan and prior professional experiences in college forensics, political campaigns, and as a librarian demonstrate a deep interest in how scholarly knowledge is produced, disseminated, preserved, and used, particularly in argumentative contexts. He has studied these processes in such specialized contexts as legal proceedings, scholarly communications networks, laboratories, political campaigns, cultural heritage institutions, and debate competitions.
Jacobsen competed in CEDA debate from 1988-1992 at the University of Oregon, making it twice to quarterfinals at nationals, including 3rd speaker his senior year. In six years of high school and college debate Jacobsen failed to break only twice and broke at all four nationals he attended. Jacobsen won the Northwest CEDA Championship his junior year earning 177 out of 180 possible speaker points. While competing for Oregon, Jacobsen won multiple tournaments every year and earned many top speaker awards. As a debate instructor, Jacobsen helped lead strong teams to national success at Cornell, Vermont, Oregon, and Alaska. Since arriving at Oregon in 2013 his teams include the top seed going after preliminary rounds and the Top Speaker at the 2014 NPTE. The program was 4th in sweepstakes at the 2015 NPDA nationals and one team was 3rd place at the 2015 NPTE national championship tournament.