Ithaca College

Longtime Ithaca College history professor Jack Pavia passed away in December at the age of 85.  And while some of the details of his long, rich life were published in obituaries in the Ithaca Journal and the Newark Star Ledger, they could not do justice to his distinguished teaching career at the college.

Jack arrived at Ithaca College in 1970 and spent the next 35 years introducing hundreds of IC students to the history of Japan (his specialty) and the broader history of East Asia; to maritime history (inspired by his lifelong avocation as a sailor); and to the grand canvas of world history.  Several generations of students can still recount moments from his lectures, which he offered with just the right mix of historical detail, storytelling, and professorial authority, and that twinkle in his eyes that anyone who knew him remembers.  There is an art to lecturing, with elements of the pulpit, the theater, and the political podium all mixed together.  Jack was a master.

But in addition to his memorable lectures, Jack also engaged students with stories of his own life and creative assignments.  During his time in the army he learned Russian and was eventually based in Japan to monitor Soviet radio communications. “I never got any big intelligence scoops,” he once told me, eyes twinkling. “But I did learn that Soviet enlisted men hated their officers as much as we did.”  In his history of Samurai Japan course he had students craft their own reproductions of period artifacts, like crossbows.  I wonder if that would even be permitted in our increasingly litigious times, but former students report learning something enduring from that tactile pedagogy.  He also pioneered collaborative teaching at IC, developing and co-teaching Intro to Japanese Culture with art history’s Nancy Brcak during his last several years at the college.

After retiring in 2003, Jack continued to teach with Nancy for a few years, and in 2007 filled in for a Cornell professor on leave.  In a 2016 interview for the history department newsletter he tipped his hat to the commitment to teaching that Ithaca College fosters.  Jack noted that many of these Cornell students commented on how refreshing his enthusiastic teaching was. “If I were talking to IC students,” he said, “I would note that what Cornell students find exceptional, you take for granted.”

I personally remember Jack as a kind and welcoming mentor.  When I began my career at the college on a one-year appointment more than 16 years ago, Jack made a point of coming to my office early in my first semester to ask how things were going.  He was one of the Muller 4th floor early birds, often in his office before 7 A.M. preparing for classes or grading papers.  His energy and enthusiasm for the work of teaching in higher education were contagious—I only hope to have that much energy in my early 70s.

And of course anyone who knew Jack will remember how passionate he was about sailing.  A decades-long member of the Ithaca Yacht Club, Jack and his beloved boat the Sensei, could be seen on Cayuga Lake every summer. May there be calm seas and welcoming shores for this next voyage of his.

As noted in his obituary, “the family asks those who would like to make a contribution in Jack’s memory to kindly consider Ithaca College, c/o Department of History, 424 Muller Center, 953 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850.”

Michael Smith, Associate Professor of History and ENVS