Transitions Abroad Magazine May/June 2007

In Memoriam

As this issue was going to press we learned the sad news that Transitions Abroad Founder, Dr. Clayton Hubbs, passed away on March 29 after a long illness. Even with Clay’s deft editing, this space would hardly have been sufficient to describe the fullness of his life and the depth of his character.

I am deeply indebted to Clay for giving me the opportunity to carry on his life’s work in publishing Transitions Abroad. Clay started his pioneering magazine at a time when there were few resources available for people who traveled to learn. The magazine began as a family effort inspired by the Hubbs’ experience traveling and living abroad, and it went on to become what Rick Steves calls “the tough little hero of travel publishing…the Nation magazine of travel.” Although Clay, modest as he was, would never have said this, because of his magazine thousands of people have studied, traveled, lived, and worked all around the world.

Upon the occasion of Transitions Abroad’s 30th anniversary this past July, Clay wrote:“The purpose of the magazine was to provide [readers with] the detailed information they need to enable them to meet the people of other countries, to speak their languages, to immerse themselves in their cultures, and thereby to ‘transition’ to a new level of understanding and appreciation of our common humanity.”

When I met Clay for the first time in 2001, I was fresh out of college and publishing a magazine I had started for study abroad students called Abroad View. I telephoned Clay seeking his advice and, to my surprise, he took my call and invited me to meet him. I felt immediately welcomed by his gentle presence and the twinkle in his eye. Despite needing to prepare the magazine for press, he took the time to talk with me, fully encouraging me to pursue my dream—and, as I’ve learned over the years, he did this for almost anyone who reached out to him. Whether education abroad colleagues, novice writers, or newbies to the field of travel and tourism, Clay mentored many and helped launch more than a few careers.

Since I started publishing Transitions Abroad four years ago, I’ve heard from countless people who remember Clay printing their first article, receiving a handwritten note of encouragement from him, or being received on the telephone with a receptive ear and a soft spoken voice of wisdom. Clay was an incredible teacher, giving tirelessly of himself to empower other people. The more I knew him, the more I admired and respected his clarity, integrity, and human goodness. He was someone for whom truly the glass was half full.

Clay lived the life he wrote about, traveling abroad at least once a year since the 1950s and living abroad for varying lengths of time. All who knew Clay will remember him for his warmth, generosity, humility, humor, wit, and unwavering commitment to educational travel. He believed in, as he wrote, “positive change through travel—not just change in individual perceptions but putting what has been learned to use to make the world a better place for all of us.”

Clay will be missed deeply.

The best way we can honor Clay’s memory is to celebrate life and to travel well.

—Sherry Schwarz

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Transitions Abroad Magazine May/June 2007 Vol. XXX, NO.6