Joan Jacobs donated $5 million in 2002 to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego downtown location for the renovation of the former train station baggage building which was named in their honor. Jacobs has pledged $120 million for the San Diego Symphony, a similar amount for the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego, $100 million for UCSD's future specialty hospital and $20 million to replace the central library in downtown San Diego. Also in 2005, the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse was named after Jacobs and his wife in honor of their philanthropic contributions towards the institution's development. In April 2013, the Jacobs donated $133 million to the joint Cornell Tech campus development on Roosevelt Island in New York City. The Joan and Irwin Jacobs TIX Institute at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, was sponsored by Jacobs with the mission of encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation announced in January 2022 that it was renaming its list of pending United States Supreme Court cases the "Joan and Irwin Jacobs Supreme Court Docket" in honor of the couple's $20 million gift, the largest one-time endowment gift in the organization's history. The Giving Pledge In August 2010, Irwin and Joan Jacobs joined the Giving Pledge, pledging to give away most of their fortune to philanthropy. Personal life In 1954, Jacobs married a New York City native, dietician, and fellow Cornell graduate (1952), Joan Klein. They reside in La Jolla, California, and have four sons. Their son Paul E. Jacobs succeeded Irwin as CEO of Qualcomm until stepping down in March 2014. Jeff Jacobs was the chief marketing officer of Qualcomm. Hal Jacobs, the second oldest, played on the 1985 USA Maccabiah Games volleyball team, and is a co-producer of the musical Jersey Boys. Their eldest son, Gary E. Jacobs, is the head of the board of the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High Charter School. His granddaughter, Sara Jacobs, a Democratic politician, is the representative for California's 53rd congressional district. Notes External links Biography from QUALCOMM.com 1933 births American billionaires Jewish American philanthropists American philanthropists Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Giving Pledgers 21st-century philanthropists Living people MIT School of Engineering alumni MIT School of Engineering faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering National Medal of Technology recipients Qualcomm people Businesspeople from San Diego