Jon has been a joy to work with the past two and half years, and although I have had the privilege of working with him for only a short period of time, I feel that I have been immeasurably touched as an educator by Jon’s dedication to the advertising field and industry, his commitment to excellence, his exacting standards, and his integrity. He has served the journalism and mass communications program well at the University of South Carolina, and his impact on the curriculum, students, alumni and industry has been enormous.

In the SJMC, we credit Jon with establishing one of the most comprehensive advertising internship programs, an innovative Maymester New York experience for advertising students, and a legacy of service through his contributions as chair of the SJMC events committee, planning the annual honors and awards convocation, new students convocation and other events. In fact, Jon was quite instrumental in keeping all of us on cue during the recent college merger, sometimes even writing “scripts” to ensure that we did not stumble and fall in performing official functions! He has inspired us all with his courage and integrity as he faced his most recent health challenges. Thank you for being a great colleague, Jon.

Dr. Wardrip took an interest in my college career early on and became one of my most important mentors both in and out of the classroom—and continued to be long after graduation 10 years ago. His enthusiasm for the J-School and its programs is an inspiration for me in my own career and something to which I think professors everywhere should aspire.

I most enjoyed seeing Dr. Wardrip after graduation in New York when I hosted him and his Maymester students and loved the annual opportunity to catch up on what was happening at Carolina and fill him in on New York advertising chaos.

I remember teasing him when I graduated that I was going to start calling him "Jon" and he said that was fine, but no matter how much I tried he always ended up as "Dr. Wardrip" to me.

I'll remember him always as "one of the greats" and for his big laugh, contagious smile and kindness--not to mention he was the one who MADE me buy my first subscription to Advertising Age.

I hosted Jon's group for about 4 years, maybe more.  I knew he was fighting his illness for some time and I so admired him for continuing to do the best for his students amidst the personal challenges he faced. 

He has always come to New York with the most positive and buoyant of attitudes, taking joy in watching his students marveling in all that the NYC media community has to offer.  I always looked forwarded to seeing him each year. His positive attitude always gave me a lift.  Jon is a wonderful example of what a teacher/professor should be. Though I only saw him when he came to NY, I consider him a real friend. 

Jon was teaching at Texas Tech when I met him at an AEJMC convention and he invited me to the annual wine and cheese party that he and a buddy hosted for Advertising Division members during one night of the convention. I happily accepted, and showed up at the door only to be asked, "What's your wine?" As I stood there, trying to figure out what Jon meant, a longtime Ad Division member walked past me, sat in a designated chair, and groaned out a complaint.

Ah! Although wine and cheese were indeed served, I had misunderstood the name. It was a "whine - and cheese" party, and admission was based on whether one could deliver a really good whine. A great stress-buster during a conference which ran meetings from 7:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. and indicative of Jon's sense of humor.

Jon Wardrip was teaching advertising at Texas Tech University in Lubbock Texas when I first met him in 1983. His energy and love of students and the academic life were infectious. You couldn't be unenthusiastic around Jon for very long.

I had never had the privilege of taking one of his courses as I was only visiting Tech as a 1968 graduate when we first met. But the strong connection between Jon and his students was apparent.

When Jon moved on to the University of South Carolina we stayed in touch and when he organized student tours to New York, I was honored to serve as his host at The Wall Street Journal. The students were always well prepared with good questions and thoughtful responses to what they experienced during their visit. Jon had a real knack for attacking the brightest and the best students and encouraging them to aspire to their greatest potential.

All of us who know and work with Jon are better for that experience.

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