Dr. Jonathan Jenks ’84 Takes Unity College Degree to Heights as Renowned Scholar, Teacher and Researcher


When Jonathan Jenks arrived on the Unity College campus as a married, non-traditional student, the furthest thing from his mind was going on to earn a Ph.D, become a distinguished professor and conduct wildlife research. His main focus was finding a career that provided a stable life for his family.

The story of Jenks’ experience as a Unity student is one with equal measure personal revelation, empowerment and fulfillment.

“The small classes and opportunities for hands-on learning at Unity were aspects that I appreciated,” Jenks said. “There was actually camaraderie that existed between students and faculty. When I was a student if you went to the Student Center on a Friday night you’d see faculty there and socialize with them as human beings, not just mentors in labs or the classroom. That kind of connection made for a warm, supportive campus environment.”

The message picked up by Jenks virtually from his arrival was that Unity was more than a college. It was a place that encouraged personal fulfillment, including intellectual and social development. The Unity approach was one that considered the whole person, from the classroom to mentoring towards a career and enjoying time together in social contexts.

Jenks’ surprising journey to life as a Distinguished Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota, his present and long-term position, began with his first job after high school.

Not a particularly strong student, after graduating from high school in his home state of Massachusetts, Jenks spent several years as a metal worker. The experience left him longing for something more, for a greater connection to both the outdoors and the greater good.

“I had always loved wildlife and wanted to work in the outdoors, but there I was, working in a machine shop,” Jenks said. “I just reached a point where I did the research, found Unity, and knew it was where I should go.”

Living off campus as a non-traditional student posed an initial challenge, but the open culture at Unity along with supportive faculty made it work for Jenks.
While Jenks found the class size ideal to help foster confidence, it has another consequence that fostered success. As a career educator, Jenks sees the academic difficulties that students face when they start to withdraw and don’t participate. This disengagement can be an unintended consequence of larger classes.

“Because of the small classes at Unity, students can’t sit back and not participate,” Jenks explained. “Small classes mean that all students have to be involved.”
At every step of the way, all of his professors challenged him to challenge himself. This was an approach that Jenks appreciated and seized with relish. He became a voracious reader, broadening his science skills in the process. By the latter stages of his time at Unity, Jenks was among the very top of his class.

“I TA’d (served as a Teaching Assistant) for Terry Bowyer,” Jenks said. This positive experience coupled with the encouragement he received from Bowyer and other Unity faculty members caused him to re-think his original career goals. Winning both the Dean’s Award for excellence in scholarship and a wildlife department scholarship from Unity in 1982, caused him to question whether his career goals were reflective of what he was capable of achieving.

Though he had always wanted to work with wildlife, Jenks recognized the opportunities that could open up for him with additional education after Unity. He received his Associate degree in Environmental Science in 1982, and his Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management in 1984.

He went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Maine, Orono, in 1986. Without pause, he journeyed to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he entered the Ph.D. program. The awards that were to become an aspect of his distinguished career at the very highest levels of scholarship began when in 1989, Jenks was named the Outstanding Ph.D. Student for the Zoology Department.

It didn’t take long for Jenks to land his first big career break upon receiving his Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Ecology from Oklahoma State University in 1991. He defended his doctoral dissertation and within months, was on the job as an Assistant Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.

What started out as an unsettled, tenuous start to life after high school turned into a career in service to college students, animal research and the environment that would be the envy of just about anyone.

“I’ve been extremely lucky with my career, since it has gone so smoothly,” Jenks said.

Despite his success on a big stage, Jenks never lost his Unity roots.

“The contacts I made at Unity are still there for me today,” Jenks said. “Maybe that happens when you feel comfortable with people who are your mentors.”

“Those professors at Unity had Ph.D’s and were doing research, and it was pretty easy to grow to their level because they were so encouraging, helping you to realize that you too, could achieve what they had achieved,” Jenks said. “I’ve spent my career trying to live up to the standards they set for themselves and for students at Unity.”

And what a career it continues to be…