ABSTRACT
It probably would not be considered an exaggeration to label Dr. James T. Jones as the quintessential “senior statesman” among African American Trailblazers in public administration. His professional work both inside and outside of the field spans more than half a century and includes navigating through some of the most repressive periods of our country’s history. Of particular note is Jones’ leadership role in establishing two of the early graduate programs in public administration; the first one at Howard University and the next at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). Born April 9, 1922 in Warren, Arkansas, Jones and his nine siblings moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1929. He recalls the inspiration provided by his parents which would help shape and motivate his educational and professional accomplishments. Jones’s mother was a registered nurse’s assistant while his dad, who had no formal education and was self-taught to read and write, became a grounds worker at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. His mother was an avid reader and, thus, the importance of reading was firmly ingrained as a core value of his upbringing. The importance of reading would become deeply-rooted as a major part of the advice he would frequently give to students. In his classes students were regularly admonished to “read, read, read” (Jones, 2015) if they were truly committed to mastering the field of public administration. He contended that the ample literature in the field of public administration offered a solid foundation for understanding how to go about resolving the plethora of administrative issues they would face as practitioners.
