Paul Jones named honorary McNair fellow

In July, noted art collector Paul Jones opened his Atlanta home to a group of visiting scholars from UD's McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.

On Thursday, Aug. 8, UD faculty, staff, and participants in the McNair program repaid the compliment by welcoming Jones to their ranks as an honorary member.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Education at more than 156 universities and colleges nationwide, the Ronald McNair Program is named for the second African-American in space, who died aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.

Jones, a pioneer in the acquisition of African-American art who donated his premier collection of more than 1,000 works of art to the University of Delaware in 2000, was named an honorary fellow in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program as part of the program's awards ceremony in the Perkins Student Center.

The honorary fellowship recognizes the collector's generosity in establishing the Paul R. Jones Collection at UD and in furthering the goals of the McNair Program, which include engendering in students an understanding of the value of culture and the importance of making a commitment to service and change.

"I have had a lot of things happen to me that have been very positive and have made me very happy," Jones said, "but none more so than being associated with the NcNair program at UD."

Maria Palacas, McNair program director, said this is the first time in its three-year history at UD that the program has bestowed an honorary fellowship and that it represents the close relationship between Jones and UD's McNair program.

"It has been mutually encouraging for both sides," Palacas said. "Paul is a role model and a mentor for the whole McNair program. He is also an example of what it means for students to take an interest in what goes on at UD after they have graduated."

The Ronald McNair Program at UD promotes academic and personal excellence among undergraduate students with the aim of increasing the number of doctoral students from underrepresented and/or low-income segments of society.

"The McNair program is a great example of what diversity can bring to a great institution like the University of Delaware," Jones said. "I feel that any kind of message I have been trying to get across regarding increasing diversity in the art and academic worlds is exhibited in this group of remarkable students."

One of the few collectors of African-American art in the 1960s, Jones became personally involved in the lives of many of the artists featured in his collection, which includes works by such noted artists as Charles White, Herman "Kofi" Bailey and Selma Burke, who created the image of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that appears on the dime.

Jones said that being associated with the McNair program at UD has made him reflect on how such a program might have furthered his own ability to follow his dreams, including assembling the art collection which he donated
to UD.

"When you are around all these young people, the feeling is contagious," Jones said. "You feel all that energy, and you feel like you are one of them. You also are more resolved to continue with whatever you happen to be doing."

JERRY RHODES

Students from UD's Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program share a light moment this summer in the Atlanta home of art collector and UD benefactor Paul Jones. The students were in Atlanta for a three-day program that included a series of meetings with graduate school researchers at Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University. The highlight of the trip was a personally guided tour of pieces from Jones's African-American art collection, which was donated in 2001 to UD.