Jon Westling (1942 – 15 January 2021)
was an American educator, and was president of
Boston University from 1996 until 2002.
Biography
Raised in
Yakima, Washington, he took his undergraduate degree from
Reed College and studied history at St. John's College,
Oxford University on a
Rhodes scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
. Before joining B.U., Westling taught at Centre College in
Kentucky, Reed College, the
University of California, Irvine, and at the
University of California, Los Angeles. He was a
Freedom Rider. In 1963, his participation in a
sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
in southern
Virginia landed him several days in jail.
Westling joined the Boston University faculty in 1974. He was named provost in 1984. In this role he was controversial B.U. president
John Silber
John Robert Silber (August 15, 1926 – September 27, 2012) was an American academician and candidate for public office. From 1971 to 1996, he was President of Boston University (BU) and, from 1996 to 2002, Chancellor. From 2002 to 2003, he again ...
's top aide and twice served as acting president; first in 1987 while Silber was on sabbatical and again in 1990 while Silber was
running for Governor. 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 until
Aram Chobanian was appointed president ''ad interim'' in October 2003.
During his tenure, he was instrumental in bringing
B.B. King and
Bob 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, and
Agganis Arena. Moreover, says Towle, as provost under John Silber, he played a pivotal role in the recruitment of four
Nobel Prize winners to the faculty.
As a scholar and professor, Westling specialized in the histories of
Medieval Europe and
Tudor England, the
Protestant and
Catholic Reformations, early modern philosophy and political theory, the development of the European state system, and the history and contemporary state of higher education.
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 avid
motorcyclist. He left behind three children, Emma, Matthew, and Andrew, all graduates of Boston University.
Guckenberger v. Boston University
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 the
New York Times, the
Boston Globe, campus newspapers, and students' parents."
References
Presidents of Boston University
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Westling, John
1942 births
2021 deaths
Presidents of Boston University
Reed College alumni
University of California, Irvine faculty
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford