Jerry Reese Yeargan died March 31, 2017 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward Yeargan and Tacy Pearl Yeargan, and his sister, Edwina McClurkan. He is survived by his wife of fifty-eight years, Jane Evans Yeargan, his daughter and son-in-law, Leigh Anne and Michael Cale, his son and daughter-in-law, Brooks and Traci Yeargan, two grandchildren, Sydney and Kinsley Yeargan, all of Fayetteville, Arkansas, one brother, Judge Charles Yeargan and wife Donna Kay of Glenwood, Arkansas, and one sister, Wanda Dwyer of Fayetteville, Arkansas. He was a member of the Church of Christ.
Born in Kirby, Arkansas on January 31, 1940, Jerry was the valedictorian of his high school class. He attended Henderson State Teacher’s College for two years where he played basketball and helped his team win the AIC Championship with an 18-2 record his freshman year. Jerry transferred to the University of Arkansas his junior year to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering. He received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas, and was a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Mu Epsilon. After working for Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas, he returned to school and received his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas in 1967.
Jerry returned to Fayetteville, Arkansas as a faculty member of the University of Arkansas College of Engineering where he taught for forty years until his retirement on June 30, 2007. He held the Texas Instruments Chair in Linear Microelectronics and served as Head of the Electrical Engineering Department from 1977-1982. He served as Head of the Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering from January 2005 until his retirement and as Distinguished Professor and Roger S. Kline Chair in Computer Science and Computer Engineering. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Society for Engineering and Education (ASEE), the International Engineering Consortium (IEC), and was a charter member of the Pan American Academy of Engineering.
Jerry was the 2001-2002 President of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET) and, as such, served as the Chair of its Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He served as an ABET director from 1998-2000 representing IEEE. He served as a member of the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET from 1992-1997 and chair of the Criteria Committee from 1995-1997.
His career in Electrical Engineering afforded him the opportunity to travel the world. He served as a consultant evaluator to engineering schools in the United States and internationally including the Egyptian Air Force Academy, the University of Puerto Rico, the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, Columbia, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Taejon, Korea, the University of Iceland, the Technical University of Delft, Kuwait University, the University of Qatar in Doha, Qatar, Abu Dhabi University, and the United Arab Emirates University of El-Ain, UAE. He served by invitation of the Swiss Federal Of ce of Technical Education as an international observer to the Peer Review of the Swiss Universities of Applied Science. He served as Chair of the Academic Advisory Board for the United Arab Emirates for the International Academic Advisory Council for the University of Qatar.
Jerry received numerous awards and recognitions including the 2006 Linton E. Grinter Distinguished Service Award of ABET, the IEEE 2004 Harden Pratt Award, the IEEE Educational Activities Board Meritorious Service Award – 2001, IEEE Millennium Medal – 2000, Outstanding Teacher Award – Department of Electrical Engineering 2004, Outstanding Service to Students – College of Engineering – 1998, Outstanding Faculty Award, Presented by the Arkansas Academy of Electrical Engineers – 1998, 1997 IEEE Education Society Achievement Award, 1981 Tau Beta Pi Outstanding Professor in the College of Engineering, Haliburton Award – Outstanding Engineering Faculty – 1986, and the IEEE Centennial Medal – 1986.
When not teaching or traveling, Jerry enjoyed playing his guitars, playing golf with his life long friends, working in his yard, and playing with his granddaughters; Sydney and Kinsley.
A “last tee time: will be held at the Fayetteville Country Club, followed by a private burial service at Kelley Cemetery in Murfreesboro, Arkansas at a later date. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas Foundation, In Memory of Jerry Yeargan, Electrical Engineering Department, 3217 Bell Engineering Building, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, the Willard Walker Hospice Home, P.O. Box 356, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72702, or the Kelley Cemetery, c/o Jane Yeargan, 2831 South College Drive, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701.
Arrangements: Epting Funeral Home
Condolences: www.eptingfuneralhome.webs.com
