Katie Jacobs

Dr. Katie Jacobs is a Professor of Psychological Science at the University of Central Missouri, where she teaches lifespan development, statistics, and research methods. Since 2014, she has directed the Advancementof Mental Health Lab, which focuses on destigmatizing mental illness and increasing access to evidence-based mental health care at low to no cost. Her lab has presented both domestically and internationally.

She is committed to providing authentic, service-based, and global learning opportunities. In 2025, she served as the faculty representative for UCM’s inaugural Global Vision Scholarship Program trip to Puerto Rico, and in 2024 she was a faculty leader for a Costa Rica faculty-led tour examining comparative health-care systems.

Dr. Jacobs has served as the President (2016-2018) and Vice President (2015-2016) of UCM’s Faculty Senate, as well as Vice President of the Missouri Association of Faculty Senate (2017-2018). Her awards include the CHST Excellence in Service Award, the UCM Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year, and Honors College Faculty Fellow. Her current projects include the 2026 release of Statistics With Humans with Sage Publications and The Things We Don’t Talk About mental health campaign.

Photo credit: Nathan Jacobs and Amanda Knight