Friends, colleagues and former students are honoring the late Associate Professor Jay Jones. Named professor emeritus in 2021, he was one of the framers of the discipline that eventually evolved into the International Higher Education master’s program.
Jones, who died in his sleep on July 11, was known for his devotion to his students as well as his innovation in the international higher education specialization. He is survived by his wife, independent filmmaker Alice Bouvrie. Jones was 75. A remembrance gathering will be held from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Tyler Room of Burnham Hall on our South Campus.
In a notice sent to the community in July by President Janet L. Steinmayer, Jones’s friend and colleague Rick Reinkraut wrote about his departed friend’s impact on Lesley.
“Jay’s contributions to the Intercultural Relations Program and IHE program were central to their development and their distinction,” wrote Reinkraut, professor emeritus in our Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences. “He retired last year having contributed his vast knowledge and great gifts as a teacher to the learning and professional development of countless students.
“His contributions to the depth, breadth, quality and currency of the curricula of the programs in which he taught are of enduring importance to the academic distinction of the university. All those who worked with him, studied with him, learned from and with him knew him to be a person of deep caring, commitment and integrity.”
His colleagues and former students agree.
“Jay was one of those professors who had a very strong commitment to his students and challenging them,” says Professor Meenakshi Chhabra, who knew Jones both as a colleague and a student, having studied in his Intercultural Relations master’s program in the 1990s. “I felt I really grew from learning from him as well as from challenging him.”
Jones’s receptiveness to feedback and direction from his students was a bit of an adjustment for Chhabra. Her interactions with professors in India were much more hierarchical.
“Respect for each other,” is how Chhabra characterizes Jones’s instructional style. “I was used to a very different kind of orientation with professors.”
Dr. Jones joined the Lesley faculty in 1980 and was a mainstay for students and colleagues for over 40 years.
Chhabra adds that Jones was always evolving with his subject matter, that “he was always open to new ways” of approaching things.
“You would never see his course the same each year,” she says. “He was always bringing new articles and thinking to the readings.”
And Chhabra remembers his growing magnanimity over the years, adding that he was the first to approach her about becoming an adjunct faculty member at Lesley.
“I saw him become one of those warm, caring human beings who wanted to connect,” Chhabra says.
Jones had a similar impact on Stacy (Jenkins) Wenskoski ’18, a human resources professional in Colorado.
“Dr. Jay Jones was not only my professor and mentor, but he was my biggest fan and I realized that on graduation day in 2018,” Wenskoski says. “When I walked across the stage, out of all of the screams for everyone, his voice was the only one I heard, saying, ‘Stacy, YOU DID IT! WHOOYOUU! YOU DID IT.’
“I will never forget how he supported me as a professor and a caring friend,” she adds. “I miss you, sir, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Brian Greene ’13, a social sciences adjunct faculty member and budget and operations manager in our College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, remembers Jones as supportive and always present for his Intercultural Relations students.
“Jay changed my life and career trajectory in such a positive way, I will forever be grateful,” Greene says. “While I was a student, he was approachable, supportive and encouraging.”
Greene points out that, after he graduated, he found Jones was always accessible and always interested in catching up,” though he jokes that his professor was not always great at responding to emails, but a phone call always got through.
“He was willing to meet anywhere, anytime, and a half-hour meeting was likely to turn into a 90-minute meeting,” Green says. “He was fascinating, brilliant and fun and the time would always fly by.
“I miss him and our conversations. He was one of a kind and I am so glad for the time I had with him; I only wish we had more.”
