James Jerome JENKINS

Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus University of South Florida Born in St. Louis, MO on July 29, 1923, the third son of Joe E. E. and Frances Reynolds Jenkins died November 17, 2012 of complications form metastatic melanoma. He is survived by his wife, Winifred, his son Christopher (Jane), daughter Lynn, daughter-in-law Debra and by grandchildren Benjamin (Becky), Jacob (Amy), Adam (Dez), Carolyn, Josiah, Abigail & Lucjan, great grandchildren Lillian, Ivan, Allyson, Ava, Caleb, Jordan, & Eric. He is predeceased by first wife Geraldine, sons Richard and Robert. After serving in WWII as an Army Air Corp meteorologist, Jim earned his PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Minnesota (1950) and continued to teach and do research at that institution until 1982, when he moved to the University of South Florida to become Chair of the Psychology Department. Dr. Jenkins played a significant role in the development of cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics in the 1960s. He conducted research on learning, language and memory for over 50 years, later specializing in the perception of speech, in collaboration with his wife, Dr. Winifred Strange. He had an infectious enthusiasm for both research and teaching, and his impact on young psychologists was tremendous. He supervised 46 PhD students in his first academic position at the University of Minnesota and through his career served as advisor or co-advisor of 82 PhD students at the University of Minnesota and South Florida before retiring in 2000. He is beloved by his students, whom he encouraged to follow their own diverse interests. His students made many important contributions to psychological research He joined the faculty of the City University of New York - Graduate Center, as visiting research professor. He will be remembered by neighbors, family, and friends as a gentle, unassuming, and very happy man. Memorials to the University of Minnesota, Psychology Department Minneapolis.