One of the first calls I received upon arriving in Louisville was from Humana founder David Jones Sr., the Louisville business titan and philanthropist. He warmly welcomed me and kindly offered to introduce me to his network of corporate and nonprofit CEOs in Louisville. It seems that I am not alone. While every citizen has been impacted by his civic leadership, his generosity and his creative energy, most of us also have a personal story about how David, who passed away on Sept. 18 at the age of 88, made us feel welcome; how he valued our insight; how he pushed us to be better.

While this is my first fully appointed presidency, I had been an acting president at an institution in another city in which I served as an officer of the university for 30 years. In that time, I never had the opportunity that I had in my first month in Louisville.

David offered me a great introduction to so many new people that I needed to get to know. I was a bit blown away by his ability and his willingness to convince so many of Louisville’s leaders to commit their time to addressing civic concerns. Yet there was a common thread of respect and support that could always be linked back to David Jones Sr.

I was honored to observe him in action at large meetings and in one-on-one conversations. He never refused my requests for a phone call or a meeting, and he spent time listening and guiding. David was genuinely interested in my adjustment—in hearing about Bellarmine University, my family and how he could be helpful. I will always remember his warmth, compassion and authenticity and will miss them greatly.

Through their personal, foundational and corporate partnership, David Jones and his wife, Betty, who died almost exactly a month before him at age 86, provided unwavering support for Bellarmine for more than 20 years.

Thanks to the generosity of the Jones family and Humana, Bellarmine built the state-of-the-art Norton Health Sciences Center in 2003, where students are greeted by David’s quote etched in glass: “Innovation occurs at the intersection of passion and competence.” The Joneses helped countless students develop the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills necessary for success through their personal funding of Bellarmine’s liberal arts core and the Humana Foundation’s support in building the W.L. Lyons Brown Library. And Betty and David’s support, both personally and through the C.E. and S. Foundation, of Bellarmine’s foreign language and international programs helped faculty internationalize the curriculum.

The C.E. and S. Foundation also supported the Courage to Teach faculty development initiative, which guided the development of Bellarmine’s new core curriculum and spurred creation of Bellarmine’s Faculty Development Center. Humana’s support of Bellarmine’s Institute for Media, Culture and Ethics, meanwhile, helped found a new educational platform at Bellarmine where the classic liberal arts discipline of communication is integrated with modern applications.

I join so many others in expressing sympathy to the Jones family and gratitude for my introduction to Louisville. David instilled his sense of hospitality, as well as his commitment to doing better, in all of us. The words “subtle giant” may not seem to go together unless you had the great fortune of knowing David Jones Sr. Then they make all the sense in the world.

Dr. Susan M. Donovan | president@bellarmine.edu