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THOMAS FRANKLIN JONES
1916-1981
BY MILDRED S. DRESSELHAUS,
WALTER A. ROSENBLITH,
MYRON TRIBUS, AND HENRY ZIMMERMANN
THOMAS F. JONES, a brilliant leader in engineering education, died
on July 14, 1981. At the time, he was a teacher and Vice-President
for Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Tom Jones was born in Henderson, Tennessee, July 9, 1916. He
earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Mississippi State University
in 1939 and a master's degree in electrical engineering at MIT in
1940. From 1941 to 1947 he served as a research physicist at the
Naval Research Laboratory. His outstanding contributions to the
war effort, including design of harbor defense systems, were recog-
nized by the Meritorious Civilian Award.
In 1947 he returned to MIT where he did research on computers,
nuclear instrumentation, and missile systems prior to receiving his
Sc.D. in 1952. He then joined the Electrical Engineering faculty and
began a lifetime career in education. He continued to do research, to
publish technical papers, to obtain patents, and to contribute to the
burgeoning field of electronics. His interests expanded to encompass
education, and it is as a leader in engineering education that he will
be remembered best.
Tom Jones was a graduate teaching assistant in the Electrical
Measurements Laboratory at MIT in 1940. That experience may
have nurtured his innovative revitalization of the introductory labo-
ratory in electronic circuits, for when he returned as a faculty mem-
ber, he succeeded (where numerous others had failed) in devising a
laboratory that students regarded as an enjoyable learning experi-
141
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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
ence rather than a necessary requirement for graduation. His ideas
and methods spread to the other undergraduate laboratory subjects
. . . .
In e ectr~ca engineering.
What made his approach to the lab appeal to students? He had
each student design a meter to measure voltage and current. The
student then built, calibrated, and used this meter. When the crude
instrument was eventually replaced by a commercial instrument, the
mystique surrounding the instrument was replaced by the confi-
dence that comes from understanding.
In 1958, while he was still tan Associate Professor at MIT, Purdue
chose him to be the Head of its School of Electrical Engineering. As
one of his faculty colleagues at Purdue recently wrote, "Dr. tones
came to Purdue at a time when the School of Electrical Engineering
was in great need of a capable and understanding Head." In the
brief span of four years he revised and updated the curriculum, he
enlarged and upgraded the faculty, he enlisted the collaboration and
cooperation of industry, and he initiated the development of an
industrial park around Purdue, much like those existing near MIT
and Stanford.
In 1962 when he was selected to be the twenty-third President of
the University of South Carolina, his staff at Purdue felt a deep sense
of loss. Again, quoting his colleague, "his training was deep-rooted
and kept all of us on the path of excellence. "
His appointment to the presidency of South Carolina's oldest
university coincided with a period of social turmoil in the United
States. Dr. tones was faced with problems of explosive growth, social
change, and unprecedented national student activism. Integration,
Vietnam, Watergate these were the words that then disturbed the
sleep of college presidents across the United States.
Growth alone was a challenge of substantial proportions. In a
period of about ten years the student population rose from about
5,000 to 27,000. During that period of rapid growth, Dr. Jones
succeeded in markedly improving the quality of the education being
provided and in improving the quality of life for the students. He
established an Instructional Services Center, integrated technical
and liberal education, and fostered interdisciplinary studies. His
influence was felt at all levels, from undergraduate to graduate to
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THOMAS FRANKLIN JONES
143
continuing education, and in all disciplines from library science to
engineering to general studies. In 1974, when he decided to step
down from the presidency, he was honored by expressions of appre-
ciation and affection by the trustees and the faculty, who awarded
him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for "having brought the
University into the mainstream of educational innovation and devel-
opment." He was also appointed a Distinguished Professor at the
. .
university.
Dr. Jones decided to explore some of his innovative ideas at MIT
where he accepted, in 1974, a visiting professorship of engineering
and education. The fit between him and MIT was so natural that he
was made Vice-President for Research upon the retirement of Vice-
President Albert G. Hill.
He was active in national affairs and his profession of engineering.
He never hesitated to give his time and energies for public service.
He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1969. He
served as an Editor and a Director of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc., and as its Vice-President for Educa-
tional Activities. He served as an officer of the American Society for
Engineering Education. He served on the National Science Board
and on the Advisory Council of the National Science Foundation
and on many of its committees and panels. He gave his talents to
many causes. He served on the Council on Higher Education in the
American Republics and made visits to Peru, Colombia, Argentina,
Mexico, and Brazil to assist in the development of higher education
in those countries.
These are the facts that appear on the written record. They show
an effective engineering educator, respected and admired by many.
But the written record does not reveal the messages Tom tones left in
the hearts and minds of all who knew him.
In the words of MIT President Paul Gray, who was one of his
students,
Tom was the consummate teacher. He taught throughout his life, in all his
activities, effortlessly, but oh so individually.... His teaching was the most
effective and engaging I had seen anywhere. And it was evident that he was
interested in each student as an individual, and that his insistence that we
concentrate on "learning how to learn" rather than on the facts and theories was
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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
a personalized prescription. It was education over the whole spectrum, for it was
Tom who first urged me to read Herodotus, Whitehead and Tocqueville; it was
he who told me where to look, just north of Scollay Square, for a used set of
Harvard Classics. It was he who insisted that all relationships and all actions
respect the humanity of those who were involved.
Tom Jones was a caring man. All who met him felt his interest
and concern. It was genuine, and touched each and every one of us.
And he taught to the end of his days. In the words of Paul Gray
again, "Now he was teaching about organization and administra-
tion, about leadership and persuasion, but the lessons were couched
in the same earthy and personal terms which had captured my
interest and heart twenty years before." He made his points with
humor: "Friends may come and friends may go, but enemies go on
forever." "You must pat a person on the back ten times before you
are permitted to swat him on the behind once. "
His doctor told him, two years before he died, that he was termi-
nally ill. He insisted on working up to the very last day. Those of us
who were privileged to see him in this period will never forget his
loving concern for others and for the future of MIT and its students.
He taught us how to learn and how to teach. He taught us how to
live. And in the end, he taught us how to die, with courage and
. · .
dignity.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
thomas franklin
