The legacy of Dr. Jack Follis lives on in the hearts and minds of colleagues, alumni and students who knew him as a University of St. Thomas biostatistics professor. The University of St. Thomas community continues to mourn his passing on Jan. 8, 2026, while also preparing to honor him posthumously with one of its most distinguished recognitions: the Guinan Distinguished Alumni Award.
Named for the Rev. Vincent Joseph Guinan, CSB, the University’s founding president, the award is the highest alumni honor bestowed by UST. It recognizes graduates who have remained deeply engaged with the University and who have made exceptional contributions to their profession, their community and their alma mater through service and excellence.
Few embody those ideals more fully than Dr. Follis.
“In the life of a university there are multiple roles that a person can fulfill: student, alum, staff, faculty, leadership and benefactor,” said Lee Holm, director of Academic Advising and lifelong friend of Dr. Follis. “Dr. Follis filled each of these roles at UST.”
Dr. Follis’ journey with the University began as a student. He earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and philosophy in 1994 and later returned to complete a Master of Liberal Arts in 2002. Even during periods when he briefly stepped away whether to attend Texas Tech or pursue his doctorate at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, UST remained at the center of his life.
“Jack has been synonymous with UST ever since he started going there,” said his sister, Grace Farquhar. “He kind of lived and breathed UST so much that he even lived across the street.”
After completing his doctoral studies, Dr. Follis returned home once again — this time as a faculty member. For more than a decade as a full-time professor, and many more years as an adjunct, he taught mathematics with a particular passion for biostatistics and data analytics. It was a subject that often intimidated students, but one he approached with patience and care.
“His true love was statistics—a subject that scares off many students,” Holm said. “Yet, he was able to make the subject less foreboding with his patience and ability to explain things in multiple ways.”
That patience extended far beyond the classroom. Dr. Follis was known for an open-door approach, offering guidance on coursework and life in general. Students came to him uncertain and often left with clarity, about equations and their own potential.
“What I didn’t realize until after meeting some of the students was how much he had meant to UST,” Farquhar reflected. “Not just academically, but personally as well. He was just always a person who could be a go-to whenever somebody needed to talk or needed assistance.”
For some, that guidance proved life-changing.
Leslie Barrera, now Director of Communications and Marketing at Christ Church Cathedral, remembers a pivotal moment during her junior year, following the death of her father. At the time, Dr. Follis was her supervisor in Residence Life.
“I told Jack that I was going to withdraw from school because I couldn’t handle that final year,” she said. “He said, ‘No you’re not. You’re going to stay here and finish your degree. That’s what your dad wanted for you, so let’s figure out a way to do it.’ Years later I told him that he saved my life that day.”
Barrera describes Dr. Follis as “one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever known—soft spoken but everything he said was worth hearing.”
Barrera recalls that Dr. Follis was a gifted musician, mathematician and poet, with “a sense of humor that never quit.”
“He had the ability to make people feel seen and valued,” she said. “I will miss him and the light he brought into the world, into my world. Always.”
That blend of intellect and humor defined Dr. Follis’ humble presence across campus. He was never one to seek recognition.
In fact, as his sister noted, “he never bragged.”
“He never did anything to where he felt like he needed the limelight,” she said. “He was just happy with all the successes that came along for the students and the University. He always kind of worked in the background.”
His influence also extended well beyond academics. A lifelong lover of sports, Dr. Follis was deeply embedded in UST Athletics, from his days playing and refereeing intramural sports to his later role as Faculty Athletic Representative.
“There was not a day when Dr. Follis wasn’t dedicated to UST,” said Todd Smith, director of Athletics and Recreational Sports and friend of Dr. Follis. “He attended nearly every sporting event on campus following Athletics’ return to Montrose.”
Smith recalled how Dr. Follis uniquely bridged the worlds of athletics and academics, even incorporating basketball statistics into his coursework to support both his students and student-athletes.
“Time is one of the most meaningful gifts a person can offer,” Smith said. “Dr. Follis gave his time generously to Celt Athletics, becoming a trusted friend to many of our student-athletes and coaches. Jack embodied so many of the qualities Fr. Guinan valued — he was disciplined, honest and deeply knowledgeable about what mattered most to him: students and the University of St. Thomas.”
Holm, who shared years of friendship with Dr. Follis dating back to their student days, remembers not only his professional dedication but his personal joy, whether leading an intramural volleyball team to a championship on his 21st birthday or helping with painting and repair work in the original Guinan Residence Hall.
That authenticity and knack for doing what needed to be done is precisely what the Guinan Award seeks to recognize. Recipients must demonstrate not only professional distinction, but also sustained engagement with the University, meaningful service to the community and integrity in their personal lives.
Dr. Follis met each of those criteria, and exceeded them.
Yet perhaps his greatest achievement cannot be measured in degrees earned, programs founded or awards received. It is found instead in the lives he touched: the student who stayed in school, the athlete who found encouragement, the colleague who found a lifelong friend.
In the end, Dr. Follis’ story is inseparable from the story of the University of St. Thomas itself.
“When you say Dr. Follis, it’s always UST,” Farquhar said. “I can’t think of anything else that would be synonymous with him.”
As the University prepares to honor him at commencement, that truth will be felt deeply across campus. His absence is profound, but so, too, is his legacy as one of the most distinguished alumni Celts.
For more about Dr. Follis, read UST Remembers Dr. Jack Follis.