‘Mentor of mentors:’ Jacob Rankin dies at 84
Longtime PUSD superintendent
Lillian Durbin said it best when talking about Dr. Jacob Rankin.
“Dr. Rankin I would say is a mentor of mentors,” she said. “He was my mentor throughout my career.”
Rankin, who served as the superintendent of Porterville Schools for 27 years, died on Wednesday at the age of 84. The 27 years is the longest tenure of any superintendent in district history.
Rankin retired in 2001 but before he retired he made sure Porterville Schools was ready when it came to meeting the educational challenges of the 21st century. Through his leadership a third high school in Porterville, Granite Hills High School was developed.
He also led the way for the development of Harmony Magnet Academy in Strathmore. Among his other actions was leading the Porterville district in the sale of the land adjacent to Monache High School which is now the Walmart shopping center. And of course Jacob Rankin Stadium at Granite Hills is named in Rankin’s honor.
Rankin actually served as the superintendent for two districts, the Porterville Elementary and Porterville High School Districts. He also led the effort to have those districts combine into one, the Porterville Unified School District.
“Porterville Unified School District is deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Jacob Rankin,” the district stated. “During his unprecedented tenure as Superintendent, generations of Porterville students, educators, and families benefited from his strong and steady leadership.”
In its statement the district also credited everything it’s able to provide to Rankin. “PUSD and all of the resources and support it is able to of
fer our students today would not exist without Dr. Rankin’s decades long vision and careful stewardship.
“Our deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones and the many individuals who he mentored over the years. We hope they are comforted in the knowledge that his legacy lives on in the thousands of students who continue to benefit every day from his life’s work.”
Durbin, a long-time educator herself in Porterville schools who served as a teacher and principal and now serves as a PUSD board member, talked about how she first experience Rankin’s mentorship. Durbin was a 17-year-old student when Rankin, who was Porterville Schools’ assistant superintendent of business at the time, selected her to be his secretary during the summers of her high school and college years. “That’s a great mentorship to me right there,” Durbin said. “That’s a big one.”
Rankin was born in 1936 and is a 1954 Porterville High graduate. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s from Fresno State and doctorate in education from USC.
He served for more than 50 years in Porterville Schools, beginning in 1959. He served as a teacher, vice principal, principal before becoming a district administrator.
Among his favorite activities was hiking Rocky Hill with his longtime friend, Ted Cornell. He was also an Eagle Scout and was honored by the Eagle Scouts.
He was also an avid Los Angeles Dodgers fan and was able to see the Dodgers with the 2020 World Championship.
“He’s definitely in a better place,” said Rankin’s son, Richard Rankin, also a longtime educator and coach who retired this past summer as the district’s athletic director.
“My dad was always a rock of stability for me. He was who you would go to to get grounded. I never saw him get really, really excited or really, really mad. That’s the way he was. He was thoughtful, very intelligent.”
Rankin added he obviously tried to follow his father’s example. “That’s something I always tried to copy,” said Rankin about how his father conducted himself. “That is what he taught to me.”
Rankin shared a story about how his father kept him grounded when he played basketball at Porterville College and was being recruited by Fresno Pacific.