DU Professors Dedicate Service to Elected School, Village Boards
This article appears in the Fall 2025 issue of the ĢƵ Magazine.
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A pair of ĢƵ professors are putting service into action through their new positions on two locally elected boards.
And they are using their ĢƵ experience to guide their work.
Dr. Kathleen Odell, associate provost and professor of economics, was one of four candidates elected on April 1 to the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education. Dr. Jenna Leving Jacobson, adjunct instructor of Spanish, was elected trustee of the village of Oak Park.
Both races were non-partisan.
Dr. Kathleen Odell, Associate Provost and Professor of Economics
Odell, who joined ĢƵ in 2009, had been advising the District 200 Board on financial matters as a member of the Community Finance Committee since 2023. Her campaign focused on long-term financial stability, maintaining a high-quality academic experience for all students and ensuring the district reaches measurable progress in its equity goals, she said.
“There are many aspects of my work at ĢƵ that will be helpful as a member of the school board,” Odell said. “I teach my students that economics is the science of decision-making under conditions of scarcity. I bring my practical experience and my academic background to the board, taking a data-informed approach to planning and governance.”
This was Odell’s first time running for an elected position.
Dr. Jenna Leving Jacobson, Adjunct Instructor of Spanish
Like Odell, Leving Jacobson was a first-time candidate for office. She leads the Oak Park-Austin Area Moms Demand Action, a local chapter of the national group advocating to end gun violence. Her election platform priorities were gun violence prevention, providing access to mental healthcare, climate justice, affordable housing and ensuring a strong local democracy.
“I believe that my work with multilingual, multicultural students at ĢƵ enriches my perspective in myriad ways,” Leving Jacobson said. “Through the experience shared with me by my students, I observe the real-life impact of public policy. And the content of the courses I teach addresses some of the barriers that maintain the injustices that motivate my political engagement.”
Leving Jacobson was elected to one of three seats on the Oak Park Village Board. She has been an adjunct professor at ĢƵ since 2017.