The ETSU Honors Program continues to mourn the loss of former program director Dr. James “Jay” Boland, who passed away unexpectedly last December.
“He was a very likeable, very personable, very laid-back, happy sort of person who enjoyed life immensely every day,” said Karen Heaton, executive aide for University Honors Programs.
“He was just like a ray of sunshine to have around. He was always positive, upbeat,” Heaton said.
Boland began his career at ETSU in 1991 as a visiting assistant professor before being promoted to assistant professor in 1996, the same year he was awarded the Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Training and the College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Award.
Moving steadily up the ranks from graduate coordinator of the math department to associate director for the honors program, Boland then became the director of the University Honors Program in 2002 and held that position until his death late last year.
A mathematician at heart, Boland not only taught several courses in mathematics at ETSU and elsewhere but published multiple works in advanced mathematics.
Having fulfilled his initial commitment as honors director, Boland was planning before his death on returning to the classroom at ETSU as a professor, in the hopes of having an opportunity to teach again and spend more time with his family.
“Once he got into the Honors Program he really didn’t do as much research as he wanted,” said Dr. Robert Davidson, longtime friend and ETSU math professor.
“He was all excited. He was going to resign from the Honors Program to spend more time with his wife and kids, and they were going on a trip for a month; they were going to Europe,” Davidson said.
Davidson and Boland became friends through a shared love of math, motorcycles and, particularly, running.
Many students may recall seeing Boland clad in jogging shorts either alone or with a small group running across campus nearly every afternoon.
“Jay was a fixture on this campus,” said Joe Rice, honors coordinator. “Everyday around noon you would see Jay and some of his math department and other buddies running on campus rain or shine. That was one of the things that he lived for: his afternoon run.”
Although Boland had been battling leukemia for some time before his death, he had continued with his locally famous daily run across campus, albeit a shortened version, even before his cancer moved into remission in the fall of 2006.
“He was doing really, really well,” Davidson said of Boland’s health immediately before his death.
“We were all in awe of him, that he was able to do everything,” Rice said.
Davidson and Boland often rode their Harley motorcycles together around town or even into the surrounding mountains, but it was not necessarily the motorcycle that would cause some parents to eye Boland with suspicion when he would introduce himself as the director of the University Honors program.
Boland’s tendency for casual dress combined with his generally unassuming, quiet nature would sometimes raise eyebrows among parents touring the University Honors Program, but according to many of his colleagues, Boland was a natural mastermind at making both students and parents feel comfortable while touring the honors program and making their choice of university.
“He was a wonderful recruiter. Families would come in, mom and dad with their son or daughter, and instantly Jay would have them at ease, and he was just really easy to get along with. He was someone who everyone enjoyed his company,” Rice said.
“For me, Jay was all about family, and that was his ETSU family and any family at home, too,” he said.
Former student Maggie Kisrieva even recalls the time she was on her way to seek counsel from Boland after her purse had been stolen and her visa was in danger of expiring, likely forcing her to return to her home country of Russia.
“I just drove to Johnson City, and right as I was getting off at the exit my car died,” Kisrieva said. “I just hitchhiked my way over to the honors house and ran upstairs to his office and told him everything that just happened to me. He told me that everything was going to be OK; everything was going to be alright.”
Never one to leave a friend in trouble, Boland lent Kisrieva his own car.
“He gave me his Jeep to drive,” she said. “He just really got on the ball and decided to help. After I saw that, I just relaxed and knew that everything was going to be OK; he’s like my American dad. I just ran to him and he took care of everything for me.”
Fourteen-year-old Bayley Rosenbusch has entertaining stories of her own about her stepfather, who she met for the first time at the age of 9.
“Actually, I met him at my elementary school, and he rode up on his blue Harley, roaring, and immediately my brother jumped on the back and demanded a ride,” she said.
Although she admits that he was quiet by nature, Rosenbusch remembers the time her stepfather invented a dance in a Subway parking lot.
“We were riding in a big ETSU van, and my brother, sister and I were just bored to death of this whole driving thing and getting on everyone’s nerves,” Rosenbusch said.
“We stopped at a Subway to get something to eat. We were complaining to Jay about how bored we were, and he stood up in the middle of the parking lot and invented a whole new dance to entertain us, with all the honors students walking back and looking at him with this crazy look, like ‘What is he doing?’ That just illustrated how much he really cared about us,” Rosenbusch said.
A celebration of life ceremony is currently planned for Thursday, Feb. 8 in the Culp Auditorium at 5 p.m.
All who wish to attend are invited. Also, there will be “memory boxes” open to anyone who wishes to share a memory of Dr. Boland.
All memories placed in the boxes will be given to the surviving family after the service. For more information call Karen Heaton of University Honors Programs at 439-6456.

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