Former Wilson School Dean dies at 89

John Lewis, former dean of the Wilson School and economic adviser to three U.S. presidents, died of natural causes May 19 in Montgomery, N.J. He was 89.

Lewis came to the University in 1969, following roles as an economic adviser to presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. He first served as dean of the Wilson School for five years, and he continued his tenure at the University as a professor of economics and international affairs. From 1979 to 1982, he returned to government as chairman of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development under President Jimmy Carter. He became professor emeritus in 1991.

Colleagues and relatives praised Lewis’s commitment to public service, as well as his enthusiasm and energy. Known for his dedication to economic development and foreign aid, Lewis believed firmly in equality and helping others.

Wilson School professor Stan Katz, who was Lewis’s colleague since coming to the University in 1978, said, “I was just struck by the man’s sort of integrity and his passion — this sort of commitment to helping to formulate public policies that would produce good results for everyone, and particularly for poor people over the world ... [Lewis] exemplified Princeton’s notion of work in the public service.”

As dean of the Wilson School, Lewis supported racial diversity in the student body and instituted the four-year M.P.A./J.D. joint degree program, which allows students to combine studies in law and public affairs.

During his time at Princeton, Lewis also played a major role in the Research Program in Development Studies.

History professor emeritus Robert Tignor, who worked extensively with Lewis through the program, recalled that “John was very, very energetic about RPDS becoming involved in projects relating to third world economic development ... He threw himself into it wholeheartedly.”

Tignor said that though Lewis was 10 to 20 years older than most fellow RPDS members, he was always the only one who was constantly energized, adding, “You couldn’t wear him out.”

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After trips to developing countries with RPDS, the rest of the members would be exhausted while Lewis would sing in the car back to Princeton, Tignor recalled, noting Lewis’s passion for travel, both with RPDS and otherwise.

Lewis worked internationally as a member of the United Nations Committee on Development Planning and as chairman of a World Bank-International Monetary Fund Development Committee task force on concessional flows.

Sally Lewis-LaMonica, Lewis’s daughter and the chef and house manager of Lowrie House, said that her father was “totally curious, so we were always going new places.” The family spent a large portion of Lewis-LaMonica’s childhood in India, a country in which Lewis had a particular interest.

Lewis-LaMonica described Lewis as “an incredible person ... He never ceased to amaze me.” He was a father who would give lengthy answers to any question asked by his children, and who brought his passion for equality home. “The most striking thing as a parent,” Lewis-LaMonica said, “was the true, true belief he held that every person deserved to be the same.”

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As a grandfather, he showed great confidence in his grandchildren and pushed them academically. “He was always the great academic push for me and my cousins,” explained his granddaughter, Katie Lewis-LaMonica ’08.

Though not many people commented on her relationship with the former Wilson School dean, Katie Lewis-LaMonica explained that during her time at the University, she encountered a John Lewis who was not well known to her. The John Lewis who, along with his wife, babysat her every Tuesday night during middle school was “very different than John Lewis the economist,” she explained.

John Lewis the economist inspired her, though. “He ... really committed his career to public service,” she said. Katie, now a program manager at the CitiGroup Foundation in Washington, D.C., added that she seeks to model his commitment in her own work in public service.

Katz explained that Lewis “didn’t expect any particular credit” for his work, and that he simply did what he believed was the right thing to do.

Both Sally Lewis-LaMonica and Tignor described Lewis as humble. “[Lewis] had all sorts of high positions thrust upon him ... and yet, he always came across as part of the group,” Tignor explained, adding that he “believed in teamwork and ... he was always able to see the best in people.”

Lewis was born on March 18, 1921, in Albany, N.Y. He earned a B.A. from Union College in 1941, an M.P.A. from Harvard in 1943 and a Ph.D. in political economy from Harvard in 1950.

Lewis is survived by two daughters, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A public memorial service will be held for him at 2 p.m. on June 27 in Prospect House.