Jon Western, former vice president of academic affairs, dean of faculty and Carol Hoffmann Collins ’63 Professor of International Relations, died on Jan. 29, 2022. His memory lives on through his wife, sons, students and colleagues.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College, Western went on to earn his Master in Public Policy at the University of Michigan and his doctoral degree from Columbia University. Before arriving at Mount Holyoke College, he taught at Columbia University and George Washington University. Western also served at the United States Institute of Peace as a Peace Scholar-in-residence and the coordinator of the Dayton Upgrade Project. In these two positions, he directed and developed a peace-building organization in Bosnia. In 1992, he worked as an analyst in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research during the Bosnian War.