James J. Jenkins (1923-2012)

Presents an obituary for James J. Jenkins. Jim Jenkins, fondly known as "J-cubed," was born on July 29, 1923, in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended William Jewell College but enlisted in the Army in 1942. He received a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Chicago in 1944 as part of his training as a meteorologist. After serving in the South Pacific, he returned to William Jewell College, obtaining a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1947. Jenkins received a master's degree (1948) and a doctorate (1950) from the University of Minnesota under a giant in industrial psychology, Donald G. Paterson. He joined the Minnesota Psychology Department faculty upon graduation (turning down an offer from General Motors at triple the salary). Jenkins helped lead psychology's "cognitive revolution" from the second half of the 20th century into the present one. His work advanced multiple research areas: learning and memory, sentence processing, aphasia, speech perception, and perceptual organization. His remarkable combination of abilities led to nearly 200 scholarly publications and 500 conference and meeting presentations; multiple leadership positions, teaching awards, and professional accolades; and intense devotion from generations of students.