Texas A&M University-Commerce Provost and Vice President Dr. Adolfo Benavides sent the following email to A&M-Commerce faculty and staff this morning:
My dear students, staff, faculty, and fellow members of the administration of Texas A&M University-Commerce:
With broken hearts for the past several days we have individually mourned the irreparable loss of our president, Dan R. Jones, and I now call each and all of you to join us as we, members of the Lion family, gather to celebrate his life, accomplishments, example and legacy.
A candlelight memorial for our university family, including students, faculty, staff, and administration, will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 2, in the University Field House. On this day of extraordinarily unprecedented circumstances, classes in all our locations will be cancelled after 4 p.m. this afternoon.
A dedication will be held on the Texas A&M University-Commerce campus at a later date.
As president, Dr. Jones impacted many beyond the university; however, due to allotted space, the candlelight memorial will be limited to students, faculty and staff of the university from all locations. An overflow room will be available to community members and visitors in The Club located on the first floor of the Rayburn Student Center. Parking and shuttle service will be available in Parking Lot 35 behind the science building, adjacent to Gee Lake.
Jalinna, Aislinn, Allyson and their family thank you for your prayers and expressions of sympathy and love. They ask that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Jalinna and Dan Jones Scholarship Endowment to honor the legacy of his love and dedication to students at our university.
Have no doubt that the sun will soon shine again on Texas A&M University-Commerce and that our dampened spirits will be renewed and reenergized as we, as a unified community, continue to carry on Dr. Jones' legacy to higher levels of student and alumni success, faculty and staff accomplishments, outstanding athletic achievements, and greater prominence for our university.
With my sincere affection and appreciation for all of you, I look forward to seeing you at the Field House this afternoon.
Sincerely,
Dr. Adolfo Benavides | Provost and Vice President
Academic Affairs
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• A limited supply of flameless candles and glow sticks will be available on a first-come basis. Attendees are invited to download a candle app on their smartphones.
• Donations to the Jalinna and Dan Jones Scholarship Endowment can be addressed and mailed to: A&M-Commerce Foundation, P.O. Box 3425, Commerce, TX 75429, or processed online at https://appsprod.tamuc.edu/AdvancementGiving/.
• For those who cannot attend, you may join the candlelight memorial via live stream on Periscope @TAMUC.