Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones
Encyclopedia
Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, Sr. (August 6, 1905 – April 9, 1982), also known as Ralph W. E. Jones or Prez Jones, was from 1936 until his retirement in 1977 the second president of historically black Grambling State University
in Grambling
in Lincoln Parish
in north Louisiana
.
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish
in southwestern Louisiana. His father, John Sebastian Jones, was the first dean of historically black Southern University
in Baton Rouge
, from which Jones received his bachelor's degree. His mother, the former Marie Morrison, was a schoolteacher in Lake Charles. Jones obtained a master's degree from Columbia University
in New York City
. Though often addressed as "Doctor", Jones did not have an earned doctorate but honorary awards from Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston
and the University of Baltimore
in Baltimore, Maryland
.
, Louisiana, Jones came to Grambling in 1926, when it was the two-year Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institution. There he taught chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Having been a player in the former Negro League, Jones launched the Grambling baseball team. He also was the dean of men and the college registrar. Under his tenure, Grambling grew from 120 students to a peak of 4,200, nearly all African Americans. The school grew from a few modest buildings to a multi-million-dollar physical plant under Jones's leadership. When Jones was only thirty, he became both the president of the school and the baseball coach as well. His actual total Grambling service, 1926 to 1977, exceeded fifty years.
Jones started the college marching band and even composed the Grambling Tigers alma mater
. For seventeen years, Wilbert Ellis
, a Ruston native and 1959 Grambling graduate, was Jones's assistant baseball coach; in 1977. Between 1958 and 1967, Jones's teams rumbled through conference play, winning seven titles between 1958 and 1967 and gaining induction into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
Hall of Fame after leading his teams to national baseball tournaments in 1961, 1963, 1964, and 1967. He was national coach of the year in 1967.
In 1941, Jones hired the inexperienced Eddie Robinson as the football coach of the Grambling Tigers. Robinson amassed a still-standing Division I record for career wins—408—from 1941 tol 1997. Of Jones, Robinson said, "Boy, oh, boy, he was some kind of guy. There were many times I thought that if he hadn't come along to hire me, that I might have gotten caught on the streets in Baton Rouge. I thank God that Dr. Jones just grabbed me and took me. ... President Jones was my teacher, even when I did not realize it." The Grambling campus is now the home of the Eddie Robinson Museum.
Grambling is just east of Louisiana Tech University. Jones's last fifteen years as the Grambling president coincided with that of the Tech president F. Jay Taylor
, who presented Jones with an honorary doctorate. Other area college presidents during Jones's latter tenure were Arnold R. Kilpatrick
of Northwestern State University
in Natchitoches
. and George T. Walker
of the University of Louisiana at Monroe
, then known as Northeast Louisiana University, in Monroe
. Like Taylor, Walker, and Kilpatrick, Jones worked with governors and legislators to obtain vital funding for his institution.
Church in Grambling. Jones was survived by two sons, Ralph Jones, Jr., and John Arthur Jones, both of Baltimore, Maryland
, three grandsons, Ralph Eldridge Jones, Ellison Emerson Jones, and Warren Waldo Jones, and five sisters. The obituary does not indicate whether Jones was divorced or a widower, but Mildred is not listed as a surviving wife. Nor is there an indication of a burial site.
In 2006, Frances Swayzer Conley published the illustrated book Prez Lives! Remembering Grambling's Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones. Jones developed the slogan: "Grambling: Where Everybody is Somebody."
In May 2011, the Grambling baseball stadium was named in Jones's honor. On July 3, 2011, Jones was posthumously inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock
, Texas
.
In addition to the baseball stadium, R.W.E. Jones Drive in Grambling is named in the former president's honor.
Grambling State University
Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...
in Grambling
Grambling, Louisiana
Grambling is a city in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,693 at the 2000 census. The city is home to Grambling State University and is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area....
in Lincoln Parish
Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
Lincoln Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Ruston. In 2004, its population was estimated to be 42,382...
in north Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Background
The grandson of a slave, Jones was born in Lake CharlesLake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish
Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
Calcasieu Parish[p] is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Charles. As of 2010, the parish population was 192,768...
in southwestern Louisiana. His father, John Sebastian Jones, was the first dean of historically black Southern University
Southern University
Southern University and A&M College is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, from which Jones received his bachelor's degree. His mother, the former Marie Morrison, was a schoolteacher in Lake Charles. Jones obtained a master's degree from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Though often addressed as "Doctor", Jones did not have an earned doctorate but honorary awards from Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
and the University of Baltimore
University of Baltimore
The University of Baltimore , located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood at 1420 N. Charles Street, is part of the University System of Maryland. Through the Freshman Initiative or Lower Division Initiative, UB has transformed from an upper division university to a...
in Baltimore, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
Grambling career
After a short stint at the former Lamson College in AlexandriaAlexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, Louisiana, Jones came to Grambling in 1926, when it was the two-year Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institution. There he taught chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Having been a player in the former Negro League, Jones launched the Grambling baseball team. He also was the dean of men and the college registrar. Under his tenure, Grambling grew from 120 students to a peak of 4,200, nearly all African Americans. The school grew from a few modest buildings to a multi-million-dollar physical plant under Jones's leadership. When Jones was only thirty, he became both the president of the school and the baseball coach as well. His actual total Grambling service, 1926 to 1977, exceeded fifty years.
Jones started the college marching band and even composed the Grambling Tigers alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
. For seventeen years, Wilbert Ellis
Wilbert Ellis
Wilbert Ellis is a baseball coach.A native of Ruston, Louisiana, Ellis was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame for his accomplishments to the game of baseball on and off the diamond....
, a Ruston native and 1959 Grambling graduate, was Jones's assistant baseball coach; in 1977. Between 1958 and 1967, Jones's teams rumbled through conference play, winning seven titles between 1958 and 1967 and gaining induction into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
Hall of Fame after leading his teams to national baseball tournaments in 1961, 1963, 1964, and 1967. He was national coach of the year in 1967.
In 1941, Jones hired the inexperienced Eddie Robinson as the football coach of the Grambling Tigers. Robinson amassed a still-standing Division I record for career wins—408—from 1941 tol 1997. Of Jones, Robinson said, "Boy, oh, boy, he was some kind of guy. There were many times I thought that if he hadn't come along to hire me, that I might have gotten caught on the streets in Baton Rouge. I thank God that Dr. Jones just grabbed me and took me. ... President Jones was my teacher, even when I did not realize it." The Grambling campus is now the home of the Eddie Robinson Museum.
Grambling is just east of Louisiana Tech University. Jones's last fifteen years as the Grambling president coincided with that of the Tech president F. Jay Taylor
F. Jay Taylor
Foster Jay Taylor, known as F. Jay Taylor , was a historian who served from 1962 to 1987 as the president of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston in Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana...
, who presented Jones with an honorary doctorate. Other area college presidents during Jones's latter tenure were Arnold R. Kilpatrick
Arnold R. Kilpatrick
Arnold Roy Kilpatrick was a Louisiana educator and businessman who was the president of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches from 1966-1978.-Early years, education, military:...
of Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
in Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
. and George T. Walker
George T. Walker
George Thomas Walker, Sr. , was from 1958 to 1976 the president of the University of Louisiana at Monroe, known first as Northeast Louisiana State College and then as Northeast Louisiana State University, located in Monroe in northeastern Louisiana.-Background:Walker was born in the Wyatt Community...
of the University of Louisiana at Monroe
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:...
, then known as Northeast Louisiana University, in Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
. Like Taylor, Walker, and Kilpatrick, Jones worked with governors and legislators to obtain vital funding for his institution.
Death and legacy
Jones died at the age of 76 in Ruston's Lincoln General Hospital of complications from gallbladder surgery. He was a deacon at the New Rocky Valley BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church in Grambling. Jones was survived by two sons, Ralph Jones, Jr., and John Arthur Jones, both of Baltimore, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, three grandsons, Ralph Eldridge Jones, Ellison Emerson Jones, and Warren Waldo Jones, and five sisters. The obituary does not indicate whether Jones was divorced or a widower, but Mildred is not listed as a surviving wife. Nor is there an indication of a burial site.
In 2006, Frances Swayzer Conley published the illustrated book Prez Lives! Remembering Grambling's Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones. Jones developed the slogan: "Grambling: Where Everybody is Somebody."
In May 2011, the Grambling baseball stadium was named in Jones's honor. On July 3, 2011, Jones was posthumously inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
In addition to the baseball stadium, R.W.E. Jones Drive in Grambling is named in the former president's honor.