JOHN BAYLEY FOX Jr.

FOX, John Bayley Jr. FORTY-YEAR CAREER AS HARVARD ADMINISTRATOR AND DEAN John died peacefully, at home in West Newton, after a long illness on November 27, 2022 at the age of 86. A graduate of Belmont Hill School and Harvard College, John continued his studies in modern history at Oxford for three years. Upon returning to the States in 1963, he joined the Commonwealth Fund of New York City, where he managed the Harkness International Fellowship Program, bringing 60 scholars a year to U.S. universities. John returned to Harvard in 1967 to head the Office of Graduate and Career Plans. "My office quickly became the site for a series of demonstrations and disruptions (Dow Chemical, the CIA, the military, etc.). These disturbances lent me notoriety," he wrote, nearing retirement, "and although I never sought another position, I have been an odd jobs man at Harvard ever since, holding nine different positions." Named Dean of Harvard College in 1976 at the age of 39, John embarked on a major reorganization of the residential system. Dubbed the Fox Plan, it established the basis for today's coeducational undergraduate House system, and housed all first-year students, women and men, in Harvard Yard and environs. During his tenure as dean of the College, John also wrote and spoke extensively on race, gender, non-residential students, the role of faculty, and other topics. As administrative Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1985 to 1992, John proposed and created a graduate center, still thriving today. As secretary of the faculty (1992-2004), he was known for his deep knowledge of Harvard. His final project before retiring in 2007 was a history of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 1686-1933. John was born in Cambridge, MA to John Bayley Fox, a dean at Harvard Business School, and Eunice Jameson Fox, a prize-winning sculptor. John and his wife, Julia Garrett Fox, quietly celebrated 55 years of marriage last July. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two children, Sarah Cleveland Kreckel (Martin) of Gottingen, Germany, and Thomas Bayley Fox (Natasha) of Chestnut Hill, MA; grandchildren, Hannah Grace Kreckel and John Alexander Fox; and step-grandchildren, Anika Maris Kreckel (Simon Munkwitz) and Maximilian Bellone Kreckel. A man of dignified stature at 6'8" tall, John was equally comfortable in a bespoke suit in the office and a flannel shirt in the woods. He had wide-ranging interests. Family history and genealogy topped the list. His family's service as officers in Massachusetts regiments during the Civil War was a source of pride. A subscriber to the BSO for over five decades, his interests ranged from John Singer Sargent to John Deere tractors. He was devoted to the small town of Andover, Maine, settled by his ancestors in the late 18th century. Thanks to a team of compassionate caregivers, John remained at home in his final months, where he welcomed family and friends and read daily newspapers as well as the latest biographies of Churchill and Grant. Burial will be in Andover, Maine, in the summer. Contributions in John's memory may be made to the Andover Educational Fund, Inc., P.O. Box 32, Andover, ME 04216. Tributes to John may be found at: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/02/john-bayley-fox-jr-who-helped-shape-modern-harvard-dies-at-86/ and https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/2/28/jbf-obituary/

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