John Bayley Fox, Jr.

John died peacefully at home in West Newton after a long illness on November 27, 2022, at
the age of 86.

A graduate of Belmont Hill School and Harvard College, John continued his studies in
modern history at Oxford for three years. Upon returning to the States in 1963, he joined
the Commonwealth Fund of New York City, where he managed the Harkness International
Fellowship Program, bringing 60 scholars a year to U.S. universities.

John returned to Harvard in 1967 to head the Office of Graduate and Career Plans. “My
office quickly became the site for a series of demonstrations and disruptions (Dow
Chemical, the CIA, the military, etc.). These disturbances lent me notoriety,” he wrote,
nearing retirement, “and although I never sought another position, I have been an odd jobs
man at Harvard ever since, holding nine different positions.”

Named Dean of Harvard College in 1976 at the age of 39, John embarked on a major
reorganization of the residential system. Dubbed the Fox Plan, it established the basis for
today’s coeducational undergraduate House system, and housed all first-year students,
women and men, in Harvard Yard and environs. During his tenure as dean of the College
John also wrote and spoke extensively on race, gender, non-residential students, the role of
faculty, and other topics.

As administrative dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1985 to 1992,
John proposed and created a graduate center, still thriving today.
As secretary of the Faculty (1992-2004) he was known for his deep knowledge of Harvard.
His final project was a history of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 1686-1933.

​

John was born in Cambridge, Mass. to John Bayley Fox, a dean at Harvard Business School,
and Eunice Jameson Fox, a prize-winning sculptor. John and his wife, Julia Garrett Fox,
quietly celebrated 55 years of marriage last July. In addition to his wife, he is survived by
two children, Sarah Cleveland Kreckel (Martin) of Göttingen, Germany, and Thomas Bayley
Fox (Natasha) of Chestnut Hill, Mass., grandchildren, Hannah Grace Kreckel, and John
Alexander Fox, and step-grandchildren Anika Maris Kreckel (Simon Münkwitz) and
Maximilian Bellone Kreckel.

A man of commanding and dignified stature at 6’8” tall, John was equally comfortable in a
bespoke suit in the office and a flannel shirt in the woods. He had wide-ranging interests.
Family history and genealogy topped the list. His family’s service as officers in
Massachusetts regiments during the Civil War was a source of pride. A subscriber to the
BSO for over five decades, his interests ranged from John Singer Sargent to John Deere
tractors. He was devoted to the small town of Andover, Maine, settled by his ancestors in
the late 18th century.

Thanks to a team of compassionate caregivers, John remained at home in his final months,
where he welcomed family and friends and read daily newspapers and the latest
biographies of Churchill and Grant. Burial will be in Andover, Maine, in the summer.
Contributions in John’s name may be made to the Andover Educational Fund, Inc., P.O. Box
32, Andover, ME 04216.

Tributes to John may be found at:
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/02/john-bayley-fox-jr-who-helped-shapemodern-
harvard-dies-at-86/ and
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/2/28/jbf-obituary/