In 1969, Thomas W. Jones (Questrom’78) stood firmly at the center of the armed student takeover of Willard Straight Hall at Cornell University. Pulitzer Prize-winning images of Jones and his fellow classmates emerging from the student union after a peaceful resolution powerfully captured widespread frustration over stalled civil rights efforts. Upon leaving Cornell, Jones entered the financial services industry, earned his MBA from Boston University, and continued to break new ground as a pioneering African American executive atop renowned firms like John Hancock, TIAA, Citigroup, and more. Jones recently published a memoir, From Willard Straight to Wall Street, and he joined us on Proud to BU to explore his remarkable journey.

You can purchase Jones’ new memoir, From Willard Straight to Wall Street, online or find it in your local bookstore. You can also learn more about the book and keep up with his speaking engagements on Facebook.

A transcript of this episode is also available. Please note, transcripts may be edited for clarity and do not represent a verbatim record of dialogue.

About the podcast: 

The Proud to BU podcast series highlights some of our most interesting and accomplished alumni and how their path to success began at Boston University.

Listen now or find the Proud to BU podcast on YouTube.