Bellarmine News
IN MEMORY: David A. Jones Sr. & Betty Lee Ashbury Jones
September 18, 2019

Photo courtesy of Humana IN MEMORYDavid A. Jones Sr. Aug. 7, 1931-Sept. 18, 2019 Betty Lee Ashbury JonesMarch 1, 1933-Aug.
16, 2019 “We at Bellarmine University join the community in mourning the passing of
David A. Jones Sr., while also celebrating the great legacy that David and his wife,
Betty, left in Louisville,” said Dr. Susan M. Donovan, Bellarmine’s president.
“For more than 20 years, the Jones Family has been an instrumental partner in the
core teaching and learning that is the heart of Bellarmine. Through their personal,
foundational, and corporate partnership, they provided unwavering support
and guidance, and their generous philanthropy has been critical to Bellarmine’s development.
There is no question that Bellarmine would not be the great institution it is today
if not for the contributions of David and Betty Jones.” The support of the Joneses
transformed Bellarmine in ways both tangible and intangible. Among them: Norton Health Sciences Center: Thanks to the generosity of the Jones family and Humana, Bellarmine in 2003 built
the state-of-the-art Norton Health Sciences Center, where students are greeted by
Mr. Jones’ quote etched in glass:
“Innovation occurs at the intersection of passion and competence.” Within this academic
building, faith and reason come together as we teach the arts and sciences to new
generations of caregivers in our community; inspiring them to
empathize with those who are suffering and to seek solutions for that suffering. Liberal arts and the library: Through personal funding of Bellarmine’s liberal arts core and the Humana Foundation’s
support in building the W.L. Lyons Brown Library, Mr. and Mrs. Jones helped countless
students develop the critical-thinking
and problem-solving skills necessary to succeed in our world. Courage to Teach: The C.E. and S. Foundation’s support of the Courage to Teach faculty development
initiative provided faculty with new content and skills that enhanced Bellarmine’s
programming in existing courses, served
as the basis for the launch of new courses, and guided the development of Bellarmine’s
new core curriculum. Courage to Teach was the impetus for the creation of Bellarmine’s
Faculty Development Center, which remains an enduring resource
for faculty. Communication: When Humana supported Bellarmine’s Institute for Media, Culture and Ethics, and thereby
the establishment of undergraduate and graduate programs in communication, it helped
found a new educational platform at Bellarmine
where the classic liberal arts discipline of communication is integrated with modern
applications. Thanks to this support, students benefit from a liberal arts curriculum
focused on communication ethics, theory, writing, and media application.
These skill sets allow students to become leaders in their field of study, social
change agents in their community, and trailblazers in the ever-changing arena of communication. Foreign language and international programs: The Jones family’s generous support, both personally and through the C.E. and S. Foundation,
of Bellarmine’s foreign language and international programs helped faculty internationalize
Bellarmine’s curriculum and has profoundly opened the world to Bellarmine students.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones helped Bellarmine students view life through an international lens
and sensibility and gave them the language skills to communicate and
thrive in the new global economy. It is thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Jones that today Bellarmine
can guarantee every student an opportunity to study at any of 150 partner institutions,
in 50 countries on six continents. Advanced Analytics: The Humana Foundation’s investment in the creation of Bellarmine’s academic programs
in data analytics, in concert with personal philanthropy from Mr. and Mrs. Jones,
allowed Bellarmine to teach our students
to better draw value and meaning from data. This support also provided students with
the skills they need to critically analyze their world, communicate, and create solutions—skills
that are fundamental to a liberal arts education.