Phillip Jacob

Phillip Jacob

Manager, Cross-College Challenge (XCC)

Phillip Jacob is Manager of the Cross-College Challenge (XCC), the interdisciplinary, collaborative project-based course that is the signature experience of the BU Hub. He played a leadership role through the 3-year piloting of the courses and is now engaged in the full-fledged implementation of the XCC by working collaboratively with the Faculty Director of the XCC. Jacob oversees the overall administration of the XCC in terms of communications, operations, budgeting, outreach, and staffing. Jacob also serves on the XCC Faculty Steering Committee and is a member of the BU Hub leadership team.

Jacob hails from the John Hughesian north shore suburbs of Chicago and holds a BA in Latin American History from the University of Illinois. He began his career in academia at Northwestern University’s Design Innovation department where he developed projects for the Design Thinking and Communication course for 400 freshmen annually from 2000-2013, organized over 60 seminars on the topics of design and entrepreneurship, and was a key contributor to the textbook Engineering Design and Communication: Principles and Practice (2010 edition).  In 2015, he was also acknowledged by Mayor Martin Walsh for serving as an advisor to team as part of CityStart Boston in and he served as Remote Training Coordinator for the BU Hub through the rollout of Learn from Anywhere in 2020-2021. Outside of work, Jacob has lead numerous international mission trips with Habitat for Humanity, is a lifelong Loyola Academy Rambler, and is proud a Tio to 13 Sobrinos.