Jay S. Goodman, 75

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Jay S. Goodman, Ph.D., J.D., of Providence, died on May 2 with family at his side following a year-long battle with lung cancer. Despite his illness, the renowned political science professor continued to teach throughout his entire 50th year at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.

Goodman was a gifted teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge of American politics. During his half-century at Wheaton, he taught more than 10,000 students. His unstinting mentorship extended over post-class chats in his office, at campus dining halls and nearby Italian restaurants.

Known for taking promising students under his wing, he guided hundreds of students into careers in government, law and politics. He loved sharing his passion for politics with all students and was proud of those he helped to pursue national scholarships, including Trumans, Rhodes, and Marshalls.

Goodman was also accomplished in three other fields: as a Democratic political strategist, as a volunteer leader in civic service and as an attorney. He served in campaigns including Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign; Ed Muskie’s 1972 presidential campaign; and the successful Rhode Island campaigns of Gov. Frank Licht, Lt. Gov. Richard Licht, Gov. J. Joseph Garrahy, Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino, and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. 

Goodman also relished his role as a civic leader. Under Gov. Garrahy, he served as the volunteer head of the R.I. Emergency Management Agency during the Blizzard of 1978.  He was later appointed by then Providence Mayor Paolino to serve as chairman of the Providence Civic Center Authority, from 1984 to 1992. In 1992, he was appointed by then Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci to the Capital Center Commission that oversaw the building of the Providence Place Mall and Waterplace Park and served until 2005. 

While serving as the pre-law advisor at Wheaton, Goodman was persuaded by his students in 1975 to attend law school himself. He enrolled in the evening program at Suffolk Law School, and received his J.D. in 1978.

He was admitted to the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Bar Associations and served as a federal clerk to the Hon. Francis J. Boyle, Chief Judge, United States District Court. He went on to become a founding partner in a major R.I. law firm, and later established his own small law and lobbying practice.

He was born on Jan. 16, 1940 in Saint Louis, Mo., to Harold and Minnie Goodman. He attended University City High School, graduating in 1957, and went on to attend Beloit College in Wisconsin. The personal attention he received from Beloit professors later inspired him to become a teacher. A member of Beloit’s Young Democrats, he grew active in political campaigns.

After Beloit, he received a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Fellowship and attended Stanford for his M.A. in political science. Goodman received his Ph.D. at Brown University, and was hired at Wheaton in 1965 at the age of 25. Within a few years he became the youngest tenured professor in the college’s history. He is the author of 9 monographs and books on politics, including the textbook “The Dynamics Of Urban Government and Politics.”

Goodman’s friends and family knew him as uniquely caring, gregarious and loyal. He was often seen strolling around the East Side of Providence with his wife, Gail Berson, and one of their beloved and large canine companions. Goodman also spent time each summer on Nantucket.

Goodman is survived by his wife of 25 years, Gail, his son Bob Goodman (Naama Goldstein) and stepdaughter Jessica Weaver; grandson Amishai Goodman-Goldstein; and siblings Fay Cohen (Michael) and Suzanne Liss (Michael), as well as nephews, a niece and cousins.

Contributions may be made in memory of Jay Goodman to support lung cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, Mass. 02284, or online at

dana-farber.org/gift.