David H. Jacobs Jr. attended the IU Jacobs School of Music in the early 1970s, a school that now bears his family's name. He is president of David Jacobs Fine Art, which matches privately accumulated art collections with public institutions, and owner of Stilllife Construction, which reuses and redevelops properties with historic and architectural merit.

Over the years, Jacobs has continued and enhanced his family's longstanding support of IU. He has been a member of the IU Foundation's board of directors since 2006 and is a founding member of the Women's Philanthropy Council.