The Maxwell School recently learned of the death of Bernard “Bunny” Jump, long-time faculty member and former chair of the then-Department of Public Administration. Jump passed away on August 21, 2019, in Ohio, at the age of 81.

Jump first came to Maxwell in 1970 as a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in urban economics, having earned his MA and PhD from Ohio State University. He then briefly returned to a faculty post at Hollins College before re-joining Maxwell, first as a visiting professor (1974-76) and finally, in 1976, as a full professor. He also served, initially, as director of the MPA program, before then being named chair of the PA department — a post he held for 17 years. From 1984 until 1995, he served also as associate dean of the School. Jump retired from active teaching in 2004.

While at Maxwell, Jump was a key member of a team of budget-policy experts who made up the School’s Metropolitan Studies Program (precursor to today’s Center for Policy Research). Well-known for his work in state and local government finances, Jump participated in the successful effort to keep New York City from bankruptcy in the 1970s. He also maintained an interest in public financing of environmental mandates, and directed the Maxwell Environmental Finance Center. He was author or co-author of numerous publications on state and local government finance and public employee pensions and benefits; and had consulted with many organizations, ranging from the Urban Institute and Massachusetts Teachers Association to the World Bank and a New York state commission overseeing public employee pensions and retirement. Jump was the long-time associate editor of Public Budgeting and Finance, and served with the National Tax Association and the New York and national Government Finance Officers Associations, among others.

A beloved and dedicated teacher, Jump received, in 1999, Syracuse University’s Alumni Outstanding Teacher of the Year award.

For more on Bunny Jump, see this 2004 Maxwell Perspective article, published at the time of his retirement.

01/07/20