As of 2018, Jeffrey Eric Jenkins is a theatre professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and was previously the head of the Department of Theatre at UIUC. Jenkins received a bachelor’s degree at San Francisco State University, a Master’s of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, and a doctorate degree from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

Jenkins has taught directing at the University of Washington, dramaturgy at the State University of New York-Stony Brook, and dramatic literature, theatre history, and criticism at New York University. While at New York University, he also served as the Director of Theatre Studies. In addition to teaching, Jenkins has also directed over two dozen productions across the United States. He authored and edited several books including Under the Copper Beech: Conversations with American Theater Critics and eight volumes of The Best Plays Theater Yearbook. Jenkins is a former chairman of the American Theatre Critics Association. As of 2018, he is vice president of the International Association of Theatre Critics.