Remembering Roy ‘Chip’ Wiggins

Roy (Chip) Arthur Wiggins III passed away peacefully, with his family by his side, on Aug. 27, 2024, after a hard-fought battle with cancer.  

Wiggins joined the faculty at Bentley University as an assistant professor of Finance in 1996, moving his family from Atlanta, Georgia, to Acton, Massachusetts. During his nearly three decades at Bentley, he served in critically important leadership roles, including chair of the Finance Department and director of the Bentley Microfinance Initiative. In 2011, Wiggins was named dean of Business and the McCallum Graduate School, and he later served as the university’s interim co-provost.  

Wiggins loved teaching and he especially loved helping his students succeed. His contributions were formally recognized many times over the years. He was awarded the Edward F. Gibbons Research Professor of Finance (2008 and 2004) and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Recognition Award (2007). Most recently, he was honored with the 2024 Adamian Award for Lifetime Teaching Excellence. This annual faculty award recognizes a long-serving Bentley faculty member for their exceptional contributions, including dedication to students, teaching accomplishments in the classroom and exceptional leadership and advocacy for teaching excellence.

“Chip was known as a wonderful, conscientious, committed and caring faculty member, colleague and friend,” Paul Tesluk, the university’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, wrote in an email to the Bentley community announcing Wiggins’ passing. “He embodied Bentley’s ideal to be a force for good. As founding director of the Bentley Microfinance Initiative, he helped students gain hands-on experience managing a loan fund that empowers women entrepreneurs in Ghana. He also helped start the Cumming Women’s Leadership Fund, Cumming Family Scholarship, Micro Bank Loan Fund, Women’s Leadership Institute and the Distinguished Alumnae Speaker Series.”

Wiggins is survived by his wife of 39 years, JoAnne, and their three children: daughters Megan ’12 and Jessie, and son Christopher ’18.