Dr Oliver Jacobs

Oliver Jacobs read Engineering at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge University (1955–62) and, after a lectureship at Edinburgh University, he joined St John’s in 1967 as Official Fellow and inaugural Tutor in Engineering Science. He retired in 2000.

Dr Jacobs was a specialist in Control Theory and author of a long-used text on the subject. As a member of the Department of Engineering Science he undertook many Departmental duties, including as Chair of the Sub-Faculty. He was instrumental in setting up a computer system to collate admissions data across all the colleges admitting undergraduate students to study engineering-related courses at a time when routine use of spreadsheets and databases was in its infancy.

Over his long career he held a number of College roles, including being Vice-President (1977–78), Deputy Bursar (1979–81), Establishment Bursar (1981–88), and Senior Tutor (1988–94). In establishing Engineering as a subject at St John’s Oliver was an exemplary tutor, arranging College teaching with rigorous precision and promoting a great esprit de corps amongst St John’s engineering students. He played a key part in bringing the use of computers into College domestic administration and to help provide Fellows with computers to aid their research. A keen music-lover and violin player he was instrumental in the design of the College’s Auditorium. Oliver was predeceased by his wife Sheila who was also a committed member of the extended College community.

A secular service will be held in St John's Chapel at 2pm on Saturday 20 September and will be followed by refreshments in St Giles House. If you would like to attend please email presidents.pa@sjc.ox.ac.uk.