FRANK JONES

1928 - 2022

JONES, Frank First tenured Africian-American at MIT Frank Sidney Jones passed away peacefully on August 28 at the age of 93. The youngest son of David Dallas and Susie Williams Jones, he gathered many life lessons from watching his father and mother serve as the President and First Lady of Bennett College in Greensboro, NC. After spending his early years in Greensboro, he moved to St. Louis in 1941 to attend school while living with his maternal grandparents. He later moved to Boston and graduated from Phillips Andover Academy in 1946 prior to attending Harvard College. At Harvard, he was proud to be named the first African American manager of the Harvard football team in 1949, and he cherished the Harvard football connection for the rest of his life. After a stint in the Army, he returned to school, graduating from Harvard Business School in 1957. Jones then launched a career in business, first working at HBS and then with Scott Paper Company. In 1968, his career took a unique turn when he accepted a position as Executive Director of the Urban Systems Laboratory at MIT. In 1971 he was named Ford Professor of Urban Affairs and became the first African American to achieve tenure at MIT. From his appointment in 1968 to his retirement in 1992, he focused on issues of race, poverty and inequality, and he used his position to try and create a stronger voice and presence for people of color. He became the Founding Director of Project Technology, Race, and Poverty and served as part of a committee to help select a leader for the newly formed Office of Minority Education, which was designed to oversee the recruitment and education of students of color. On a sabbatical from MIT in 1989, he spent a semester at Morehouse College in Atlanta and taught two courses during that term. He enjoyed the interaction with students so much that he returned and continued his involvement with Morehouse students for a few years post retirement. On his return to MIT, he was also instrumental in creating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professors and Scholars Program, which continues to bring distinguished, talented African Americans to share their wisdom with the MIT community. He served on a variety of corporate, philanthropic and educational boards throughout his career. Corporate boards included Polaroid, Scientific Games Holdings, Capital Cities/ABC Inc, and CIGNA Corporation. Always focused on what he described as a single standard of excellence, he resigned from CIGNA in 1997 over what he felt was the company's unwillingness to enlarge and invigorate its policies and programs for enhancing diversity. Other board service included Mount Holyoke College, Phillips Academy, Charles Stark Draper Labs, Greater Roxbury Community Development Corporation, The Center for Creative Leadership and The Partnership, Inc., where he served as Chairman of the Board. Most importantly, he was a loving and supportive father to Christopher and David; father-in-law to Angela Cook-Jones and Sarah Niemczycki; and proud grandfather to Samuel, Andrew, Jackson, Anna and Audrey. As the last remaining sibling, he took a strong interest in and was very proud of the accomplishments of his eight nieces and nephews. His desire to fight for a better world for those most in need lives on in each of us. A memorial service is being planned for a future date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to either the Frank S. Jones Student Activities Fund at MIT or to Bennett College.

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