Monday, Nov 9, 2020
Yavelow was a professor of biology at Rider for 38 years
Dr. Jonathan Yavelow, who forged deep connections with generations of colleagues and students through a signature mixture of charm, exuberance and scholarly brilliance, died on Oct. 29. He was 68 years old. The cause of death was lung cancer.
Yavelow taught at Rider for 38 years. His research and teaching focused on the beauty and power of scientific thought, integrating science, social science and the humanities to better approach sustainability and health challenges; the impact of diet on health; and especially the relationship between environmental health and human health.
In 1995, he received Rider’s Frank N. Elliott Award for Distinguished Service, which is presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary service to the University.
“Anything involving Jonathan was almost guaranteed to be more lively, interesting and fun,” says Dr. Kelly Bidle, the dean of Rider’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “He was not just a wonderful and brilliant colleague; he was an amazing person and mentor who left an impression on everyone who had the chance to know him. We are devastated by this loss.”
Yavelow was born in 1951 in Montclair, N.J., to parents Vivian Goodman Yavelow and Bernard Yavelow. He grew up in York, Pa., before moving to New York City in 1968, where he attended The Franklin School for his senior year of high school.
Yavelow received a bachelor’s in biology from American University in 1973 and a doctorate in cell and molecular biology from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 1978. He taught biology at Vassar College before coming to Rider in 1982, where he became a tenured professor and taught for the rest of his career.
Yavelow met Joy Ann Kreves in the summer of 1984. They married that December in a small ceremony officiated by her father, the late Rev. Eugene W. Kreves. The couple lived in a renovated farmhouse in Milford, N.J, when their daughter, Ivia, was born. The family later moved to Ewing, N.J., in 1993.
During his long career at Rider, Yavelow served as the assistant dean for the sciences, faculty director of the University’s Health Studies Institute and the chair of the biology department. He helped to convene and lead the Science Advisory Board and was especially proud of the Rider students in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program he mentored. The program prepares students from underrepresented backgrounds for the pursuit of doctoral studies.
In addition to his teaching, Yavelow was a consultant and visiting scientist at a number of institutions, and his research was published in numerous scientific journals. After becoming friends with the theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson, he was invited to become a visiting member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton from 2011-12, where he worked on his book Stargazing to Sustainability: Appreciating the Scientific Process, published in 2013.
Yavelow was the recipient of multiple research grants and was appointed in 2012 by the governor of New Jersey to serve as a commissioner on the New Jersey State Commission on Cancer Research (NJCCR), a position he held until 2018. In April, the state of New Jersey recognized Yavelow for his exceptional service to NJCCR, with Gov. Murphy writing, “It is comforting to know that citizens like yourself are willing to help improve the lives of countless individuals who are battling this disease.”
In May, Rider announced The Jonathan Yavelow Scholarship Fund, a new scholarship endowed in his honor to benefit undergraduate science students with financial need. At an event announcing the scholarship, several alumni spoke of Yavelow’s effect on them.
“Jon took me under his wings, mentored me, taught me, stimulated me, inspired me and cared about me,” said Dr. Nicholas Tsarouhas ’85, an attending physician in emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the medical director of the hospital’s Transport Team. “To this day, my emotional bond with Jon Yavelow is as strong as it was when I was his student. In many ways, I’m so proud to say I’ll always be Jon’s student.”
The tributes offered that day exemplified the cheerful and unfailing support he gave to his family, friends and students. He firmly believed in the importance of finding and pursuing one’s passion and connecting with others. His family recalls Yavelow making friends while on vacations in Australia, Western and Eastern Europe, India, and elsewhere, and the enthusiastic hugs that likely were to follow.
Yavelow is survived by his wife, Joy Kreves Yavelow; his daughter, Ivia Sky Yavelow; his aunt, Jane Goodman, and many cousins. He was predeceased by his parents, Vivian Goodman Yavelow and Bernard Yavelow, and older brother, Mark Nathan Yavelow.
A virtual memorial service is planned for Sunday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. Advanced registration is requested.
At the request of his family, memorial contributions to the Jonathan Yavelow Scholarship Fund at Rider University can be made by visiting rider.edu/YavelowScholarship or by mailing a check, payable to Rider University, c/o Courtney Sledge, University Advancement-LIB-137, Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648-3099.
