Today, Robert J. Jones took office as the University of Washington’s 34th president, six months after his appointment by the UW Board of Regents was announced. In addition to his role as president, Jones also holds a faculty appointment in the UW Department of Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences. He joins the UW following nine years as the chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to that, he was president of the State of New York University at Albany (SUNY Albany).
Jones previously served as chair of the board of directors for the Association of American Universities (AAU), chair of the board of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors. In addition to his experience leading public research universities, Jones is a highly regarded scholar of crop physiology, and he served for more than three decades as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota.
Of his new role at the UW, Jones says, “I am honored to be joining the University of Washington and excited to lead this extraordinary public University in its mission serving students, families and communities across Washington and beyond. The UW is globally renowned as a home of outstanding teaching, research, innovation and patient care. I look forward to working with the UW’s talented and dedicated faculty and staff to support and accelerate their work, and to partnering with the UW’s supporters to advance students’ success, economic opportunity and discovery for the public good.”
The University of Washington community is excited to welcome President Jones and his wife, Dr. Lynn Hassan Jones, to the Husky family.