In Memorium:
Duane M Jackson
1948 - 2025
Photo credit: Williston Northhampton
By: Zuleyma Tang-Martinez (with additional contributions by Peggy Hill, Emilia Martins, and Sue Margulis)
The Animal Behavior Society mourns the passing of our member, Duane M. Jackson, on April 30, 2005, at the age of 77. We offer our deepest condolences to his wife, Dr. Fleda Jackson, their children, and his other family members.
A dedicated researcher and scientist, Duane’s most important contributions to the ABS were, arguably, in the area of diversity and inclusion. During the 1970s and 1980s, Duane was a regular and highly regarded attendee at ABS meetings, one of the only two African American ABS members at the time. In 2000, Duane hosted the annual ABS meeting at Morehouse College, marking the first time that ABS had met at an HBCU. During this conference, Duane presented a seminal lecture on Charles Henry Turner; for many of us, this was the first time that we had heard about Charles Turner and this lecture proved to be a tour de force which, even now, continues to shape ABS values, institutional culture, and commitment to DEI.
During this 2000 meeting, Duane invited a group of about 8 ABS colleagues, all known to be interested in DEI issues, to his home in Atlanta. (This group included, but was not limited to: the late Dr. Jerry Hirsch, Duane’s Ph.D, advisor - and a long-time anti-racism activist; the late Dr. Devra Kleiman; the late Dr. Charles Snowdon; Dr. Zuleyma Tang- Martinez; and Danielle Lee (a graduate student at the time), among others. While Fleda acted as the gracious hostess and kept us all well-fed with cookies, punch, and other delicious goodies, Duane led an hours-long brainstorming session about next steps for increasing DEI in the ABS.
By the end of this discussion, we had decided to propose: 1) That a formal, official, and standing Diversity Committee be established by the ABS Executive Committee. Thus, this was the origin of our now very active and important ABS Diversity Committee. 2) That ABS establish a yearly, full-day, workshop to encourage under-represented undergraduate students to attend ABS meetings and learn about the ABS and animal behavior. This workshop was named in honor of Charles Henry Turner, since he had spent most of his career teaching young students in St. Louis, MO. As a member of the newly-created ABS Diversity Committee, Duane served as one of the Co-PIs (with Emilia Martins and Peggy Hill as Co-PI’s), on a grant proposal to the NSF, which subsequently funded the now renowned and highly successful Charles Turner Undergraduate Program at ABS meetings. After receiving 12 years of support from the NSF, the ABS Executive Committee voted to institutionalize the program and ever since has covered all costs for all students attending the workshop.
Born in Chicago, Duane pursued his undergraduate education at Morehouse College, returning to Illinois for his PhD at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne. He was delighted to return to Atlanta, first at Clark College. Duane’s academic career led him back to his alma mater, Morehouse College, where he was a professor of psychology, well-respected and loved by his colleagues and students. He also served as curator of invertebrates at Zoo Atlanta and remained an active member of the zoo’s Board of Directors for many years.
Duane Jackson’s role in the creation of the ABS Diversity Committee and in the founding of the Charles H. Turner Undergraduate Program are his lasting legacies to the ABS. He will be remembered fondly by all who knew him and will be greatly missed.