Faculty
Jonathan Vaughan
Jonathan Vaughan, the James L. Ferguson Professor of Psychology, died on Sept. 14, 2014, from complications arising from throat cancer. He was 70.
Born in New Haven, Conn., Jon Vaughan earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Swarthmore College before pursuing his doctorate at Brown University with a specialty in animal learning. In 1971, he joined the faculty at Hamilton where he spent more than four decades earning the respect of his peers, his students, colleagues in his field and the many alumni whose lives he touched. “Jon was my research advisor for my four years at Hamilton, and I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor, role model and friend,” noted Deborah Barany ’11 in a post on the Hamilton website following Professor Vaughan’s death. “He had this incredible knack for leading you toward the best solution, while still making you think it was your idea all along.”
A cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist, Jon Vaughan’s research has led to a deeper understanding of visual search in human and nonhuman primates, the psycholinguistic correlates of brain-evoked potentials, spatial attention and motor control. His findings have been published extensively, often with student co-authors, in such journals as Psychological Review, Journal of Experimental Psychology, Psychological Science and Experimental Brain Research. He was the founding archivist for the Psychonomic Society’s Archive of Norms, Stimuli and Data, and his research was often supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Long passionate about computer programming and instrumentation, Professor Vaughan was a pioneer of computer use at Hamilton in the 1970s, having the first stand-alone minicomputer system at the College. In addition to publishing several papers related to the use of computers and instrumentation for data collection, analysis and teaching, he served as editor of the journal Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers for five years and co-authored the recently published book MatLab for Behavioral Scientists. In 2013, his work earned him the Dean’s Career Achievement Award presented at Class & Charter Day, and he was awarded fellow status in both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society.
Professor Vaughan regularly advised students on their senior projects, championed their work at the New England Center for Children, a school for children with autism spectrum disorder, and at a similar local program at the Kelberman Center, and supervised the research of psychology students in Clinton schools. In addition to other academic committees, he chaired the Psychology Department for 13 years over four terms, most recently in 2010-11.
“Jon was the gracious collaborator who did more than his share of the work, guided us to produce better results and then often stepped into the background to let us take most of the credit,” said Doug Weldon, the Stone Professor of Psychology, in a tribute presented at an October faculty meeting. “His intelligence, honesty and kindness brought out the best in those he worked with, whether in teaching, scholarship or faculty committees.”
Weldon noted that the interest his colleague had in understanding repetitive movements dovetailed nicely with his love of music. Jon played cello in the Hamilton College orchestra and attended a cello camp in New Hampshire each summer. He also played the harmonica and, while in college, participated in a jam session with John Sebastian, the singer-songwriter who founded The Lovin’ Spoonful. “Those of us in the department will miss the sound of his whistling in the hallways; he always seemed to have a song in his head,” Weldon added.
Jonathan Vaughan is survived by his wife, Virginia “Beejie,” sons Joseph and Alexander, daughters-in-law Aisling Dugan and Kristina Keating, and grandchildren Oliver and Vivian.
Bobby Fong
Bobby Fong, who served as Hamilton’s dean of faculty from 1995 to 2000, died on Sept. 8, 2014, at the age of 64 following a heart attack. He had been serving as president of Ursinus College since 2011.
The son of Chinese immigrants, Bobby Fong grew up in Oakland, Calif. He earned a scholarship to Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude before earning his doctorate in English literature from the University of California-Los Angeles. Recognized internationally as a scholar of Oscar Wilde and the editor of the Oxford edition of Wilde’s poetry, Bobby Fong’s academic career took him from Berea College, where he taught English, to dean of arts and humanities at Hope College, to dean at Hamilton. In 2001 he became president of Butler University before assuming the helm at Ursinus.
With a reputation as a leader in higher education, especially as a tireless advocate for liberal learning, Bobby Fong served as chairman of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and on the Presidents’ Council of the Association of Governing Boards, among other professional organizations. Friends and colleagues will also remember his passion for baseball.
Bobby Fong is survived by his wife, Suzanne, and sons Jonathan and Nicholas “Colin.”
