Minnesota administrator, crop expert named new UAlbany president

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Goot

The SUNY Board of Trustees today appointed Robert J. Jones as the 19th president of the University at Albany following a national search. Jones has served as senior vice president for academic administration at the University of Minnesota System for the last eight years.

At the University of Minnesota, Jones was responsible for oversight of a broad portfolio of programs and initiatives that provide core support for academic programs across the university system.

Before that, Jones served more than 15 years in key administrative leadership positions at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, including vice president and executive vice provost for faculty and academic programs, vice president for campus life and vice provost for faculty and academic personnel and interim vice president for student development.

A native of Dawson, Ga., Jones has more than three decades of higher education leadership experience as well as academic expertise spanning plant physiology and urban and international development. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Fort Valley State College, a master of science degree in crop physiology from the University of Georgia and a doctorate in crop physiology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. After earning the doctorate, he joined the University of Minnesota faculty as a professor of agronomy and plant genetics.

Jones’ appointment is effective on Jan. 2, 2013. As president, he will receive an annual salary of $385,000, with a supplement of $110,000 from the campus’ allocation of research funds through the Research Foundation. He will also receive a $60,000 housing allowance and have access to a campus vehicle.

Jones will succeed George M. Philip as president of UAlbany. Philip served as interim president of the campus from November 2007 to June 2009, and as permanent president since then.

“The University at Albany is a world-class institution of higher education with an innovative research portfolio that serves our nation’s highest needs and ensures that New York State is at the forefront of today’s technological advances,” Jones said in a statement.