Jon Westling | |
|---|---|
| 8th President ofBoston University | |
| In office 1996–2002 | |
| Preceded by | John Silber |
| Succeeded by | John Silber (Interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1942 |
| Died | (aged 78) |
| Alma mater | Reed College Oxford University |
Jon Westling (1942 – 15 January 2021)[1] was an American educator, and was president ofBoston University from 1996 until 2002.
Raised inYakima, Washington, he took his undergraduate degree fromReed College and studied history at St. John's College,Oxford University on aRhodes scholarship. Before joining B.U., Westling taught at Centre College inKentucky, Reed College, theUniversity of California, Irvine, and at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles. He was aFreedom Rider. In 1963, his participation in asit-in in southernVirginia landed him several days in jail.[1]
Westling joined the Boston University faculty in 1974. He was named provost in 1984. In this role he was controversial B.U. presidentJohn Silber's top aide and twice served as acting president; first in 1987 while Silber was on sabbatical and again in 1990 while Silber wasrunning for Governor.[2][3][4] In 1996, he was chosen to succeed Silber, who became Chancellor of the University after a 25-year tenure as president. Westling's tenure came to an end in July 2002, when he resigned the presidency to return to teaching and research as a Professor of History and Humanities. Silber stepped down as chancellor and reassumed the presidency on an interim basis untilAram Chobanian was appointed presidentad interim in October 2003.
During his tenure, he was instrumental in bringingB.B. King andBob Dylan to Boston University campus. According to Richard Towle, a former BU senior vice president, Westling, as president, had a "special focus on student-oriented programs," leading to the development and commissioning of various student centers, dormitories, andAgganis Arena. Moreover, says Towle, as provost under John Silber, he played a pivotal role in the recruitment of fourNobel Prize winners to the faculty.[1] As a scholar and professor, Westling specialized in the histories ofMedieval Europe andTudor England, theProtestant andCatholic Reformations, early modern philosophy and political theory, the development of the European state system, and the history and contemporary state of higher education.[5]
After a career spanning 46 years, Westling died on January 15, 2021, at the age of 78. Beyond his tenure as president and provost, he was remembered as a professor within Boston University's Department of History and as an avidmotorcyclist. He left behind three children, Emma, Matthew, and Andrew, all graduates of Boston University.[1][6]
During a court case he was accused of making controversial statements about students with learning disabilities. "President Westling referred to students with learning disabilities as "a plague," and an indication of "a silent genetic catastrophe," and he has made similar statements in letters to theNew York Times, theBoston Globe, campus newspapers, and students' parents."[7]
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