OHIO community mourns the loss of Professor Emeritus Jerry Sloan

Jerry Sloan, 84, born in Cleveland, Ohio, on Dec. 10, 1936, passed away on Dec. 10, 2020, in Davidson, NC, according to The Plain Dealer . The OHIO alumnus was professor emeritus in strategic communication at Ohio University and established the school’s Jerry Sloan Visiting Professional award.

Before inspiring students as a professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Sloan was an award-winning public relations executive in the automobile industry at Ford Motor Co. and American Motors Corp. As a professor he was beloved by many students, continuing to impact their lives and keep relationships with many of them long after they left Athens.

"Professor Sloan was an inspiration,” George Rafeedie, a 1994 OHIO grad who is the owner of Tell Your Story marketing agency and was a Sloan Visiting PR Professional, recalls. “He helped us visualize what our careers could be. He got us excited about potential paths ahead. He opened our eyes to the possibilities of the rest of our lives. He was a life role model. He gave us confidence. If you got to know Professor Sloan, you wanted to be like Professor Sloan. For many of us, his guidance continued throughout the years until his final days. Sometimes it was with a phone call to get his advice on career moves, or it was getting inspired by his annual Christmas card with his family or getting a laugh by reading his famous Jack Sloan Chronicles social posts. For me, inspiration also came as an honor of a lifetime when I was able to teach in his name as the Jerry Sloan Visiting Professor. There will never be another Jerry Sloan, but he has planted seeds that will grow and live forever.”

“Jerry was one of those larger than life people – and he left me big shoes to fill,” Bojinka Bishop, associate professor emerita at OHIO and former Sloan Professor of Public Relations, said. “Actually, I remember at a PRSSA meeting, he took off his shoes, put them on the podium, and listed all the places his shoes had traveled, because, he said, of his career in PR. The students loved it (and him). He was an astute PR professional and an inspiration to so many Scripps students. Although he left Scripps soon after my being named Sloan Professor, his influence still lives on in the hearts and minds of so many in the Scripps family.”

“The year 2020 has hit the E.W. Scripps School of journalism hard. First, the death of former director Ralph Izard earlier this year, and now the recent passing of Professor Jerry Sloan,” said Eddith Dashiell, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. “I was one of the few faculty left who worked with Jerry before he retired. In fact, we joined the journalism faculty about the same time. He was a great colleague and mentor. His students loved and respected him. His legacy is the Jerry Sloan Visiting Professional in Public Relations program. We have had more than 15 Scripps alumni, who are now public relations professionals, return to campus for a two-week visit teaching classes and sharing career advice with members of the Ohio University Chapter of PRSSA. Jerry was an enthusiastic supporter of Ohio University and the School of Journalism. He was a devoted Bobcat.” 

“ Jerry Sloan was more than a professor. He was more than an adviser. He was more than a mentor. Jerry became life-long friends to many of his students, including me,” Troy Kirkpatrick, BSJ 1997 and former OHIO PRSSA chapter president, said. “He was one of the best friends I made in my four year in Athens. He attended dozens of weddings of former students. Jerry had a deep and devoted love for Ohio University. He had a public relations career that rivals anyone I've ever known. His idea of paying back all that Ohio University had given to him was to retire early and become a professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. He gave his students the best experience he could, and boy did they appreciate it. The line outside of his office any day of the week would stretch down the hall. Everyone wanted Jerry to be their adviser. He gave great advice for students, professionals and life in general. He had a constant drive for excellence in everything he did, be it a PR guy, a professor, an adviser, a husband, dad, grandfather or great grandfather. He is one of those rare individuals who excelled at everything he did. He is the closest thing to a real King Midas that I’ve ever seen. He had a golden touch.”

Due to the pandemic, a memorial service will be planned in 2021 at Ohio University, where Sloan not only went to school and taught, but where he also met, fell in love and got married to his wife and OHIO alumna Jeanne. His ashes will be spread in a memorial garden which they endowed at the university. Donations may be made to Centre Presbyterian Church, 129 Centre Church Road, Mooresville, NC, 28117 or to The Ohio University Foundation, P.O. Box 869, Athens, OH 45701 with a note in the memo designating the Jerry L. Sloan Visiting Professionals in Public Relations Award; or online at https://give.ohio.edu/ .

UPDATE: The family of Journalism Professor Emeritus Jerry Sloan is planning a celebration of his life at Emeriti Park on the Athens campus on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. The service will be held at 11 a.m. with a reception to follow in Baker 240/242.

The kindness of a response is requested to Dave Sloan at  dsloan@drivechicago.com .

Editor's note: This version of the story is updated to include information regarding a celebration of life for Sloan.