Remembering BUSSW Professor Emerita Linda Kay Jones
BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) lost an amazing community member with the unexpected passing of Linda Kay (Huff) Jones on September 29, 2024.
Born in 1944, Kay attended American University in Washington D.C. and spent her life in service to others. As an AmericaCorps VISTA volunteer, she worked in inner-city Baltimore while starting her master’s in social work degree and spent two years in Ho Chi Minh City working with refugees for the Unitarian/Universalist Service Committee before moving to Cambridge, Mass. to finish her MSW at Simmons College. While raising her children and supporting her husband, she worked at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center before joining the faculty at BUSSW after her children were grown. Kay was a member of the Human Behavior Department and taught foundation courses, as well as the elective, “Clinical Work with Refugees and Immigrants.” She designed and taught this course long before classes like it were offered at other schools of social work. After she retired, this important work continued when emeritus professor and lecturer Lee Staples and Mojdeh Rohani (‘99) established the BRIDGE Program at BUSSW, which has grown into a groundbreaking pre-enrollment program for refugees and immigrants.
Prof. Staples reflected on his time working with Kay, “She was such a beloved colleague and friend for so many of us at Boston University School of Social Work. Kay was a member of the faculty for more than twenty years, mentoring scores of students during her tenure, while also raising awareness about human rights, cultural diversity, immigration policy, newcomer social service needs, and appropriate teaching practices among her colleagues. Her knowledge and passion about the challenges and opportunities for culturally sensitive social work services in newcomer communities almost single-handedly inspired BUSSW to address this area more thoroughly throughout its curriculum and field internship placements.
The Refugee and Immigrant Training Program (RITP), which Kay founded and directed, broke additional new ground by offering consultation and training to human services agencies working with newcomer populations. Under her creative and visionary leadership, participants included more than 500 bicultural workers from Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa. In 1994, she developed the Newcomer Social Work Opportunities Program (NSWOP), an innovative initiative, providing educational and financial supports for refugees and immigrants interested in pursuing graduate education. When Kay retired, 135 newcomers representing 27 different nations had participated in this program, with 53 successfully completing their MSW degrees. Most of these graduates continue as social work leaders and practitioners to this day.”
“Today, BRIDGE continues Kay’s work at BUSSW, standing squarely on her shoulders. She brought so much to our School and newcomer communities throughout New England. Her intellect, knowledge, vision, creativity, energy, and commitment to social justice truly were outstanding. And she always conducted herself with such honesty, respect, sensitivity, kindness, and humility. I have been involved with community work as an organizer, staff director, educator, trainer, consultant, and coach for the past 56 years. There is no question that Kay Jones has been among the very finest individuals with whom I have had the privilege to work.”
Her colleague Professor Emerita and Lecturer Maryann Amodeo said, “When I began working with representatives of the Vietnamese and Cambodian communities in Massachusetts, I had instant credibility if I said that I worked with Kay Jones. She was revered for the work she had done with these groups over many years, and they were honored to know anyone who worked with her. She was well known at the International Institute of New England and many of the staff and administrators there consulted with her about client issues, program planning and policy positions. This was also true of the staff of the MIRA coalition (Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition).
Maryann added, “As the Chair of the Human Behavior Dept. at the time, I read all student evaluations of faculty in my department. Evaluations for Kay’s courses were stellar, with students repeatedly commenting on shifts in their views of refugees and immigrants because of her teaching and personal sensitivity, warmth, and openness. Many students left the course motivated to do the type of work Kay had done. They saw her as an ideal role model for what social work should/could be.”
Professor Emerita Betty J. Ruth said, ““Back in the1990s, there was less general emphasis on racial justice. However, Kay was part of the core teaching team for BUSSW’s Implications of Racism for Social Work course. She was a thoughtful and reliable colleague; you could go to her with any challenges you were having in your courses and be confident that you would receive supportive feedback and consultation for how you could adjust your teaching or meet the needs of your students. Kay was known for being relentlessly strengths oriented, and she honored what each faculty member was bringing to the work we were doing together. She was simultaneously gracious and generous, audacious and strong, in her values and principles.”
Dean Emeritus Hubie Jones shared “I greatly admired Kay’s huge commitment to providing effective services for immigrants. Her education and training of immigrants to have the knowledge and skills to use their assets to serve others was awesome. This work was one of the reasons that BUSSW was a relevant and compassionate institution. We are all in her debt.”
After leaving BUSSW, Kay became an AmeriCorps volunteer with Vermont Rutland Hospice and then worked as director of social work at Rutland Regional Medical Center. She continued as an advisor to BUSSW students and during her retirement, she was active with programs like Rutland Welcome, the Boards of the Rutland Library, Council on Aging, and the Humane Society.
A celebration of life will be held in Spring 2025. For more details, please contact Lance Jones at joneslap@yahoo.com.
Learn more about Kay’s remarkable life here.