According to colleagues, Dull's scholarly strength was his constant focus on probing the Sinological tradition in search of more profound meanings.
Professor Herbert Franke of Munich cited Dull's "ability to elucidate the deep structures underlying the historical phenomena and the standardized terminology of the Chinese sources.
Professor Albert Dien of Stanford University said, "For those of us who study early Chinese history, Jack has served as a sort of lifeline to the outside world of scholarship.
In Seattle, he oversaw the East Asia National Resource Center for two decades, and served for six years as Associate Director of the Jackson School of International Studies.
Dien observed that in the Directors' conferences, "Jack always took an active role, as much a critic of policies he viewed as misconceived as he was a leader in discussions.