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Professor John T. McCartney
A campus memorial service for John T. McCartney will take place 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, in Colton Chapel.
A member of the Lafayette faculty for 26 years, McCartney died March 28. He is survived by his wife, Janet; a son, John N. McCartney ’96, of the Lehigh Valley; and a daughter, Anja McCartney Moss ’06, of the Bahamas.
A public viewing will be from 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, at Strunk Funeral Home, 2101 Northampton Street in Easton.
McCartney was a professor of government and law and former chair of the Africana studies program, which he helped develop. He joined the faculty in 1986 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1992 and full professor in 2002. He served as head of government and law from 1998-2007.
Read an article about McCartney’s teaching and political work in the Bahamas
His areas of special interest and expertise included black politics and political thought, Latin America and the Caribbean, and African politics. He taught courses on politics in the United States, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Western Europe, as well as courses in Africana studies.
He developed and co-taught the three-week interim-abroad course The Politics and Literature of the Modern Caribbean with Bryan Washington, associate professor of English. He also served as a mentor for many students conducting honors thesis research or EXCEL Scholars working with him on his research projects, as well as being the faculty adviser for the Association of Black Collegians.
McCartney was the recipient of the College’s Marquis Distinguished Teaching Award, Student Government Superior Teaching Award, and Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Faculty Lecture Award for excellence in teaching and scholarship, among other awards.
His book Black Power Ideologies: An Essay in African American Thought, published in 1992 by Temple University Press, is viewed as a major contribution to American intellectual history. He also has written scores of articles and book reviews on black thinkers, politicians, ideas, and issues.
His own political experience includes running for parliament in his native Bahamas in 1977, while he was an assistant professor of political science at Purdue University, and serving as president of the Vanguard Party in the Bahamas from 1979-85.
He held a Ph.D. in political history from the University of Iowa, an M.A. in history from the University of Detroit, and a B.A. in political science from Drake University.
9 Comments
RIP
Dr. McCartney, what an absolute BRILLIANT man you were! Thank you for the huge academic influence you had on me and so, so many others; an influence that lingers in many areas of our lives today. Studying for your 5-hour written exams are forever etched in our memories!:)…and now, hearts. You will be sorely missed.
Rest in perfect peace!
Gladys Moniba ’97 Payne
I am honored to call him Dad. He has definitely left his mark here on earth and at Lafayette College. He will be sadly missed but greatly remembered.
John,
Everyone in your immediate and extended family counted on you to lead us. We all miss you so much – we can’t believe that you are not physically here with us although we know that you are watching (as you always do).
Just know that you have made your mark in life. Your history, remarkable oratory skills and teaching skills are second to none. You are a true leader. Lafayette College and your students were such an integral part of who you were. When we visited you – all you wanted to do was return to teach YOUR students.
Love you John,
Your Little Sister – Poie.
Professor McCartney was an excellent teacher, and a great man. As a Government & Law major (Class of 1998), I had the great honor of not only taking several of his classes, but also having him sit on the faculty thesis committee before which I defended my Honors Thesis.
Years later, on April 29, 2010, I had the honor of introducing Professor McCartney before a speech he gave to the Central Connecticut Chapter of the Alumni Association. As I noted in my introductory remarks, Professor McCartney had a great and positive impact on my academic career, both at Lafayette College, and later in pursuing my J.D. here in the United States, as well as my LL.M. at a European university. The emphasis he taught on exam preparation served me well through my studies for graduate degrees, for bar exams and even today, in the manner in which I prepare for oral arguments in court. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to let him know what he meant to me, and to express my gratitude.
Lafayette College is a far better place today because of the impact that John T. McCartney had on the College and the many graduates that he mentored and influenced – I am honored to count myself among them. His passing is a great loss, and I humbly express my deepest sympathies to his family and all who knew him.
Respectfully,
Fletcher C. Thomson ‘98
John, we miss you so much. Our deepest sympathy to Janet, Gozi and Anya.
From your sister, Patricia Goz from Tulsa, Oklahoma, husband Arkanjelo, Khadija, Arkanjelo Jr. and Essengo.
May you rest in peace, and God’s blessings on your family.
To all the McCartney family. It is a great loss to lose such a wonderful man. My heart goes out to the family, I knew John, the son, from when he went to school here and then worked at the bank window downtown. He was a very kind and friendly gentleman. Which he passed down to his son.
Cindy post office
RIP uncle John. Your sister, my mom, prayed for u every single night. Your the oldest child and will truly be missed!
RIP/ Love You.
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