Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies - John Jacobson/A Remembrance

John Jacobson was one of our most valued Advisors at the Cambridge Center. Many of you knew him from his contributions to listserves and online discussion groups. His biography in our Who's Who section said simply:

"John W. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a behavior analyst, applied researcher, lecturer, and consultant in developmental disabilities. He is co-editor of the Manual of Diagnosis and Professional Practice in Mental Retardation (APA, 1996). He teaches educational research and behavior analysis at the Sage Colleges, and is a Board member of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and of other organizations, and serves on the advisory board of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies."

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John Jacobson, Ph.D. died this morning [May 9] around 6 am with his family at his side, at his home in Schenectady, NY.

A wake will be held at the Jones Funeral Home on Union Street at McClellan in Schenectady this Tuesday, May 11, from 4 pm to 7 pm.

The funeral will be Wednesday morning, time not yet specified, at the Jones Funeral Home.

An announcement will appear in the Schenectady Gazette and Times Union this Monday with details of the arrangements.

The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a charity or organization yet to be identified.

He agreed to participate in a symposium at ABA, "The Shaping of Behaviorists", one of the events honoring the birth of BF Skinner. In the midst of his chemo and radiation, and within one week of his death, he emailed me a HUGE powerpoint presentation, complete with lecture notes, for that symposium.

...Everyone who met John was struck by his passion and commitment to his work. He was driven to convince others that each member of society be treated with dignity and respect. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral service on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. at the Jones Funeral Home, 1503 Union Street, Schenectady. Calling hours will be Tuesday evening from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home for those who wish to call. Burial will be in Park View Cemetery, Schenectady. To insure that John's dedication to his work lives on, the family requests that, in lieu of flowers, a donation in his memory be made to National Association for the Dually Diagnosed (NADD), 132 Fair Street, Kingston, NY 12401-4802.

John Jacobson had a wonderful intellect and he was an incisive thinker. But most of all I will miss his scientific honesty and courage.

John had recently been elected to the ABA Council and he was so proud and pleased by that honor.

His passing creates a major void in the fight to bring empirically based treatment to those most in need of them.

I was finishing a book with him and an article for the Behavior Analyst. His passing is a major loss for our field. He will be missed by all who knew him and all who benefited from his writings.

I knew John Jacobson as an Advisor to the Cambridge Center and as a member of our Autism Advisory Board. John was active in both groups, and gave valuable leadership to the humane application of behavioral research in the field of Autism. The treatment of Autism in New York and America is qualitatively better because of John.

More personally, John was a person whose objectivity and counsel I valued. I knew that he cared deeply about the Center's mission. Whether he agreed or disagreed with me or others on issues we faced, I trusted him to advance his positions thoughtfully and respectfully.

Along with John's friends and family, I will miss him. We're in a better place because he was here.

I had the pleasure of knowing John for many years and served on many committees in many organizations with him. He was someone I was always happy to see, spend time with outside the meetings, enjoy his keen wit, and learn more in 10 minutes about the status of all things political that were important to us in various fields than reading all the listserves and newsgroups. At a personal level, his loss is a great sadness and I shall miss him, but always recall him with a smile, just as he always greeted me – with a smile.

At a professional level, his loss to multiple fields is staggering. He was a true bridge in an ever increasing trend to insular sub groups. He traveled easily among many diverse groups, and at time when such groups often focused antagonism toward each other, John was always our collective ambassador. He never lost sight of the goal he exemplified - that there is no contradiction in the application of science, skepticism, and critical analysis, and a warm, caring, and genuine concern for those we serve.

Now our challenge is to find a fitting way to honor his memory and his contributions.

What was initially most impressive about John was his sheer range of knowledge. John was one of the most well-rounded people I have ever known. His knowledge of the science, philosophy and application of behavior analysis was nothing short of inspirational. He combined this with an unbelievable range of knowledge regarding professional practice issues. When that conversation was done, he could engage you in a detailed discussion of Marvel comic books from the 1960's to the present.

John was one of the nicest and most ethical individuals I ever had the good fortune to meet. I never knew him to refuse anyone who needed his expertise; a phone call to him would be returned in record time. His conduct showed a type of altruism that is rarely seen.

Although I knew John was not well, his death still came as such a great shock and is such a tremendous loss to our community. We had just corresponded about the new role he was so excited to play in the ABA council. No matter how sick he must have been the past few months, he continued to play an active role in our efforts in New York through the NYS Association for Behavior Analysis. John was so approachable and generous with his time and his knowledge. I loved his humor, compassion, and most of all, his dedication to insuring that people with autism accessed appropriate and science based interventions. He was a quiet leader in this struggle and his efforts will be long lasting. He was not one to sit quietly and wait for others to take action. I remember years ago during the height of the FC craze, John took action and worked tirelessly to fight this fight.

We at NYSABA will miss his level thinking and his wise guidance. We'll miss his understanding of policy and of ways to address this. Most of all, we will miss his friendship.

During the past decade, whether in person or via the Internet, John Jacobson was one of the strongest influences on me. I owe him a great debt of gratitude, he will be missed.

John Jacobson's passing is a great loss to the field and an even greater loss to those of us who had the chance to get to know him. John was a good man, a great thinker, an insightful writer and always quick to laugh. His professional and personal honesty and integrity remain an inspiration to many.

I'm finding it difficult to believe that John is gone, even more difficult to articulate what his loss means to me and the field. He was one of the most knowledgeable, hard working, and caring people I've ever known. The quantity and quality of his accomplishments were nothing short of amazing; he was a veritable gold mine of reliable information on a wide array of topics, and he produced an incredible body of work. Yet my guess is that relatively few people know the extent of his contributions, because John never sought the spotlight and was quick to credit others. His reinforcers truly seemed to lie in making things better for people with disabilities, advancing scientific knowledge, and promoting behavior analysis and behavioral psychology, rather than promoting himself or his services or his products. John personified integrity and dedication, right to the end. I will miss him terribly, but I feel privileged to have worked with and learned from him.

I was lucky to have John as a close friend for almost 20 years. He found a home in the behavioral community. But he was involved in other organizations and endeavors – so many that that no one person knew everything he was involved in. You have to wonder how someone could have done so much. However, if you knew his family, and especially his wife Pat, you could see where the primary support came from. I will miss him.

I came to know John Jacobson over the past 6 years as a very knowledgeable behavior analyst and psychologist. He made many significant contributions to the field, and I was always amazed by his great breadth and depth of knowledge in many areas. He was somewhat of a mentor to me in those years, always taking the time to talk to me on the phone and discussing the issues with his great knowledge as well as with great zeal. He also would reply quickly to my emails and would offer his advice without hesitation. I can hardly believe that he is no longer with us and shall miss him greatly. We have lost someone who gave tirelessly to the advancement of the field, and it will be difficult to fill this void.