September 19, 2022

Academy mourns the loss of two board legends

Honoring Trustee Emeritus Richard Goodyear ’59 and Former Alumni Trustee Frank S. Jones ’46

The Andover community was saddened to learn of the recent deaths of Trustee Emeritus Richard Goodyear ’59, P’80, ’90, ’93, ’97, GP’24, on September 4, 2022, and former alumni trustee Frank S. Jones ’46 on August 28, 2022. Jones was the first person of color to serve on the Academy’s Board of Trustees.

Photo courtesy Phillips Academy Archives

Dick Goodyear, charter trustee from 1989 to 2005, was an extremely effective chair of the Academy Resources Committee, particularly during the critical years of Campaign Andover. He also led both the Parent Fund and the Andover Development Board and served with distinction as an admissions representative, career mentor, and regional association president. His philanthropy supported numerous areas of need, including the Andover Fund, the Joshua Miner deanship, and major campus building renovations as well as several scholarship endowments. Goodyear also supported other areas anonymously.

“Andover has lost a great friend and leader in Dick Goodyear,” said former head of school Barbara Landis Chase. “Those of us who worked with Dick knew him for his quick and insightful thinking and his open and generous heart. As a trustee, he was a rational, caring, persuasive voice in board deliberations. A consummate fundraiser for Andover, Dick believed fervently in the cause, giving generously and inspiring others to do the same.”

Goodyear graduated from Yale College in 1964 and Yale Law School in 1967. After beginning his legal career with the New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton and then working for Occidental Petroleum in Los Angeles, he joined Chrysler Corp. as general counsel. In 1981, he worked with Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca and other top executives on an emergency restructuring plan to save the company from bankruptcy. Goodyear also helped lead key acquisitions for Chrysler, most notably the purchase of American Motors Corp.

Read more about Goodyear’s life and accomplishments at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/richard-goodyear-obituary?id=36462737.

Photo courtesy MIT Museum

Frank Jones served on the Alumni Council from 1961 to 1964 and was elected to a three-year term as alumni trustee in 1970. He was the first person of color to serve on the Board of Trustees. Jones was also a member of the Bicentennial Campaign Steering Committee, Abbot Academy Association Board of Directors, and the Head of School Search Committee that selected Theodore R. Sizer to lead the Academy.

“I am awed by Mr. Jones’s accomplishments across the field of education,” said Head of School Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24. “He will be remembered as a history-maker at Andover and MIT, but more importantly he will be remembered for putting his trailblazing status to work, advocating for underrepresented students by opening doors to greater opportunities and motivating their success.”

Jones earned a BA from Harvard College in 1950. After a stint in the Army, he graduated from Harvard Business School in 1957. He served as the school’s assistant dean until 1962 and then launched a promising career in business. In 1968 Jones was invited to become executive director of MIT’s Urban Systems Laboratory. Named Ford Professor of Urban Affairs in 1971, he taught civil engineering and was actively involved on campus and within the larger community. According to MIT, Jones went on to become the school’s first African American to achieve tenure. From his appointment in 1968 to his retirement in 1992, Jones focused on issues of race, poverty, and inequality.

Read more about Jones’s life and accomplishments at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/frank-jones-obituary?id=36420459 and https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/frank-jones-41

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