# Robert J. Jones

Robert J. Jones (born 1951) is an American crop physiology scientist, currently serving as the 10th chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since September 2016. He served as the 19th president of the State University of New York at Albany from 2013 to 2016. On February 3, 2025 he was announced as the 34th President of the University of Washington.
In addition to his academic career, Jones was a tenor singer in Sounds of Blackness, a vocal ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota that sings gospel, soul, and R&B.

## Education

Jones earned a bachelor's degree in agronomy from Fort Valley State College, a master's degree in crop physiology at the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in crop physiology at the University of Missouri.

## Career
### University of Minnesota

Jones worked at the University of Minnesota for 34 years in many positions: a professor in agronomy and plant genetics, executive vice provost, and senior vice president for academic administration from 2004 to 2013. The University of Minnesota's Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center was named after Jones.

### University at Albany

Following his career at the University of Minnesota, Jones served as the president of the State University of New York at Albany from 2013 to 2016. During his tenure, he created the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

#### Racial assault hoax

Jones made national headlines for presiding over a racial hoax that was reported as a race-motivated assault against three African-American women on a campus bus. Based upon a police report at the time, Jones firmly declared in a public announcement that “early this morning, three of our students were harassed and assaulted while riding a bus in Albany. I am deeply concerned, saddened and angry about this incident. There is no place in the UAlbany community for violence, no place for racial intolerance and no place for gender violence.”. Later video evidence showed that the trio was not assaulted and were instead aggressors in the incident. Students and observers criticized Jones as rushing to judgement while Jones refused to apologize stating that he made his remark based upon the police report at that time. Jones later announced that the university expelled two of the students and suspended the third for violating the student code of conduct.

### University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

In July 2016, Jones was named as the University of Illinois' tenth chancellor. According to Jones, leaving the University at Albany was one of the most difficult decisions he had to make in his academic career. Jones also has a tenured faculty position in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences in the department of crop sciences. In November 2024, Jones announced he would be stepping down in June 2025.

### University of Washington

On Feb. 3, 2025, the University of Washington Board of Regents named Jones as the new university president. Jones will enter into his new role at the end of the 2024-2025 school year when President Ana Mari Cauce's current term ends. Jones will be the 34th president at the University of Washington, and the first Black president in the school's 164-year history.