Grandfather, longtime CGU professor, author

Jack Herman Schuster died August 27 at age 88. “Jack was known for his collegiality, integrity, and loyalty to family and friends; for his sense of social justice and dedication to the advancement of those who are underrepresented; for his erudition, thorough editing, and wordsmithing; his commitment to Jewish values and community; his generosity and philanthropy; his dedication to the idea that higher education is worthy of study, and deep mentorship of hundreds of students; for his sense of humor, aesthetic sensibility, love of art, and delight in Broadway and classical music; for his passion for baseball and tennis; and for his commitment to keeping hard copies of every meeting he was ever in,” his family shared.

He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on July 23, 1937, to Morris and Sallye (Abramson) Schuster. He and his sister, Jill* were involved in the youth group at Temple B’nai Zion and attended C.E. Byrd High School, where he was a state champion debater and part of student government and the tennis team. Later, at Tulane University, he was the head of the Pan-Hellenic council and a devoted member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He kept in touch with his ZBT brothers for the rest of his life, holding frequent reunion gatherings in New Orleans as recently as 2024.

*To compound the comedy of Jack and Jill’s names, Jack later married Diane, little knowing that John Cougar Mellencamp wouldn’t release his album until 1982.

His father’s friendship with the young Yankees player Eddie Lopat in the late 1940s-early 1950s, led to his son getting to hang out with the team whenever Morris went to purchase diamonds in New York for his Shreveport jewelry store. As such, young Jack became a lifelong Yankees fan, taking great pride in the years when he got to spend time in the Yankee clubhouse and travel with the team — though he learned from that experience that even his heroes were human and should not be idolized. His passion for baseball and statistics was reflected in his love of calculating and beating “the odds” in poker, gin, and the opinions of medical professionals.

“One of the ways that Jack was extraordinary was that, growing up in a segregated community in the deep South, he developed deeply held convictions — even as a teenager — about issues of racial justice and equality,” his family said. “The themes of equity, brotherhood, and cooperation came to define his commitments throughout his life.”

After his graduation from Tulane and ROTC, he served briefly as an active reserve officer. He proceeded to Harvard Law School, where he met wonderful friends but detested being a law student. His studies led him back to Tulane as the assistant director of admissions. He went on to earn a master’s degree in political science at Columbia University, then headed to Washington, D.C. as a legislative assistant to Congressman John Brademas of Indiana, who had a particular interest in education policy. He loved working on Capitol Hill, including managing Brademas’s successful reelection campaign in 1968.

It was during that period that Jack met Diane Tickton. They married in January 1969, and the next year they left Washington, D.C., for UC Berkeley, where he became assistant to the chancellor. During the seven years that he worked for the chancellor’s office, he deepened his passion for higher education, earning a Ph.D. in education at Berkeley. In 1978, he became a professor of higher education and public policy at the Claremont Graduate School (later, Claremont Graduate University), where he remained until he retired in 2008.

At CGU, he embarked on a distinguished career, with a passion for teaching, mentoring, and academic governance. He developed courses on the history, public policy, and philosophy of higher education and the faculty experience. He co-authored many books, including “American Professors,” “The American Faculty,” and “The Faculty Factor,” essential works in the study of the professoriate and higher education.

The annual trips on which he took his students to Sacramento to meet with legislators about education policy led to the establishment of the Schuster Travel Fund at CGU.

Among many accolades, in 2007, he received the Howard R. Bowen Distinguished Career Award from the Association for the Society of Higher Education, an organization he helped found. He remarked upon his acceptance of the award, “It’s hugely meaningful to be mentioned alongside the prominent scholars who were previous recipients, many of whom I count as friends. I guess this is as close as I’ll get to Cooperstown,” referring to professional baseball’s Hall of Fame.

He was passionately committed to the Jewish community and served on the board and as president of Temple Beth Israel in Pomona, and on the boards of the Jewish Federation and the Hillel Council for the Claremont Colleges. He maintained deep charitable commitments, especially in the areas of civil rights, serving the underserved, Israel, and Jewish institutions.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Diane Tickton Schuster; daughters, Rabbi Jordana Schuster Battis (Seth) and Ariana Schuster Kudlats (Jamie); grandchildren, Gershom and Rachmael “Rocky” Battis and Toby and Sadie Kudlats; his sister, Jill Schuster Rosenberg; and many other beloved relatives and friends.

Services took place August 31 at Temple Beth Israel. Interment was at Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Temple Beth Israel of Pomona at tbipomona.org,  Claremont Graduate University at cgu.edu (Jack H. and Diane T. Schuster Travel Fund), or the Southern Poverty Law Center at splcenter.org.