Early thoughts on Robert J. Jones, Washington's next president
From an athletics perspective, of course.
University presidents have greater obligations than obsessing over athletics.
Washington’s Monday announcement of Illinois chancellor Robert J. Jones as the school’s next president highlighted his extensive academic credentials. Jones, 73, is an agronomist with a doctorate in crop physiology. He spent more than 30 years as a faculty member and then administrator at Minnesota before he became president at the State University of New York at Albany, where he worked from 2013-16 before being hired at Illinois. When he assumes the UW job Aug. 1, Jones will become the school’s first Black president.
“His inspiring and barrier-breaking personal journey, highly regarded scholarship and decades of transformative leadership convinced us that Chancellor Jones is the ideal person to build upon President Ana Mari Cauce’s legacy,” Blaine Tamaki, chair of UW’s board of regents, said in a statement.
Cauce herself lauded Jones, a fellow member of the Big Ten’s Council of Presidents and Chancellors, for his “deep and demonstrated commitment to scholarship, innovation, research and especially, access to excellence for students regardless of their means or background.”
The University of Illinois’ official website gave a detailed overview of Jones’ tenure here.
This being a football-focused news outlet, of course, I’m guessing you’re mostly curious about Jones’ background in, and involvement with, college athletics.
Here are a few things to know about his time at Illinois.