19th UAlbany President

[Clickclack]

Got this in my e-mail....

 

To the University at Albany Community:

I am very pleased to announce Dr. Robert J. Jones has been appointed the 19th president of the University at Albany. The State University Board of Trustees made the appointment this afternoon, upon his nomination by Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, concluding a national search that attracted candidates from leading research universities across the country. Dr. Jones has served as senior vice president for Academic Administration at the University of Minnesota System for the last eight years. He will assume the UAlbany presidency on Jan. 2, 2013.

A native of Dawson, Georgia, Dr. Jones has more than three decades of higher education leadership experience as well as academic expertise spanning plant physiology and urban and international development.

For the past eight years, he has been responsible for the oversight of a broad portfolio of programs and initiatives that provide core support for academic programs across the University of Minnesota system. Prior to that, Dr. 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.

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 his Ph.D., he joined the University of Minnesota faculty as a professor of agronomy and plant genetics. He is an internationally recognized authority on plant physiology and has published numerous scientific papers, manuscripts and abstracts. His research focuses on the role of cytokinins in stabilizing grain yields of maize against environmental stresses and global climate change. Over his career, he has trained many students who have gone on to leading careers in higher education and research.

Dr. Jones is a fellow of both the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America. He has been a visiting professor and featured speaker in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, and from 1984 to 1994 served as an academic and scientific consultant for Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s South African Education Program. In 2010, he was awarded a University of Minnesota endowed chair in urban and international development; he was also named a recipient of the Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU).

Dr. Jones holds a gubernatorial appointment as a commissioner of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and serves on the boards of directors for the Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities, the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities, and the Bush Foundation, among other leadership roles. He is also a member of the Grammy award-winning Sounds of Blackness, a Twin Cities-based choral ensemble.

I am confident Dr. Jones has the experience and talent to lead our University and to strengthen the critical impact we have in preparing students, advancing research and serving our communities. In the months ahead, I look forward to working with him to assure a smooth transition.

On behalf of the University at Albany Search Committee Co-chairs, Dan Tomson and Patricia Caldwell, I extend my deep appreciation to all the members of the University Council and the Presidential Search Committee for their hard work and commitment in fulfilling a successful search for UAlbany’s next president.

Dr. Jones is expected to visit the campus on Friday, Sept. 21 and additional details will be provided in the days ahead. I hope everyone will join me in welcoming Dr. Jones and introducing him to our remarkable community.

Sincerely yours,

George M. Philip

President

[Phoenix]

Studied or worked at DI Minnesota, Missouri and Georgia.

[Clickclack]

Studied or worked at DI Minnesota, Missouri and Georgia.

 

Glad it's over and that it didn't get derailed. Hopefully he's the visionary that we need to take us to the next level, AAU etc.

[danefan]

Meh.....does nothing for me on paper.

 

That doesn't mean a darn thing though. Hopefully it works out.

[MRSGDG]

 

SUNY Board Appoints Dr. Robert J. Jones as University at Albany President

http://www.albany.edu/news/28617.php?WT.source=home&WT.svl=image

[Clickclack]

BTW...nice freaking scoop by the TimesUseless...another swing and a miss. Pres. Jones wasn't one of the final 9.

Edited September 12, 2012 by Clickclack

[Michigan_Dane]

Speaking from a purely athletics perspective, this is likely a good choice. Of course there are no guarantees. Maybe he'll be the Southern anti-athletics exception but I was formerly ATL_DANE and living in the South was eye opening in terms of college athletics. College sports are HUGE in the South. Some of that enthusiasm must have rubbed off on him.

 

He's from Dawson Georgia. He attended UGA. He has primarily been at major state universities. By comparison, CAA football is going to look pretty small. I think anyone that complains to him about 1AA football being "big time" is going to get a puzzled look. You can't walk by Sanford Stadium everyday and think anything other than that Ford Field is pretty small.

 

I'm cautiously optomistic that he's at least neutral to athletics. I think there is a better than even chance he'll look at UAlbany and wonder why we're not competing at a higher level. Why UMASS, UCONN, Rutgers but not UA?

[Clickclack]

Speaking from a purely athletics perspective, this is likely a good choice. Of course there are no guarantees. Maybe he'll be the Southern anti-athletics exception but I was formerly ATL_DANE and living in the South was eye opening in terms of college athletics. College sports are HUGE in the South. Some of that enthusiasm must have rubbed off on him.

 

He's from Dawson Georgia. He attended UGA. He has primarily been at major state universities. By comparison, CAA football is going to look pretty small. I think anyone that complains to him about 1AA football being "big time" is going to get a puzzled look. You can't walk by Sanford Stadium everyday and think anything other than that Ford Field is pretty small.

 

I'm cautiously optomistic that he's at least neutral to athletics. I think there is a better than even chance he'll look at UAlbany and wonder why we're not competing at a higher level. Why UMASS, UCONN, Rutgers but not UA?

 

I hope you are correct...this school needs a lot, we all know that. Hopefully athletics can be a unifying force that ties the community and alumni together. Hopefully he's in the mold of the late Pres. Hall.

[Michigan_Dane]

I would have loved to keep President Phillip. I thought he was great.

 

I can't speak for Dr. Robert J. Jones's academic background. We don't have much of crop science program at Albany.

 

Like I said, I could be surprised and he'll be the one Southern man who attended UGA who hated the football team but somehow I doubt it. You see more college flags outside of homes on College Football Gameday then you see US flags.

 

At both Cox and TBS in Atlanta, college football talk started Thursday went into Friday and then you talked about the results Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday may have been the one day of the week it wasn't discussed. He may have interests other than football but I find it hard to believe that despite our huge gains we're anything but sub par in his mind. Georgia high schools bring out 10,000 fans any given Friday...more than our flagship campus!

Edited September 12, 2012 by SoCal_Dane

[UAFAN]

Heard we are being re-branded.............ALBANY A & N (Agriculture & Nano)

 

Now the big question, do we follow Texas A&M to the SEC or replace them in the BIG12? Either would work as geography does not fit into the equation.

[Michigan_Dane]

His almata mater's football stadium. Pretty nice considering it's DII. No need to post stadiums for Georgia, Minnesota or Missouri. We all know what a SEC or Big 10 stadium looks like... 'large' comes to mind.

 

http://www.fvsusports.com/sports/2012/6/28/Athletics%20Facilities.aspx?tab=athleticfacilities

[jalidanefan]

Heard we are being re-branded.............ALBANY A & N (Agriculture & Nano)

 

Now the big question, do we follow Texas A&M to the SEC or replace them in the BIG12? Either would work as geography does not fit into the equation.

that is damn funny

[Michigan_Dane]

His almata mater's football stadium. Pretty nice considering it's DII. No need to post stadiums for Georgia, Minnesota or Missouri. We all know what a SEC or Big 10 stadium looks like... 'large' comes to mind.

 

http://www.fvsusports.com/sports/2012/6/28/Athletics%20Facilities.aspx?tab=athleticfacilities

 

 

Looks like their stadium is new. Very nice for D2. 10,000 seats

 

http://halgibsonco.com/project_detail.php?id=7

[Dane96]

I am with DF on this one. Does nothing for me. Not dynamic...not a big hitter. That said, internally Dr. Hall was considered a coup; on paper not so much. Maybe Jones pulls the same.

[madDOG]

Is Minnesota an impressive school academically? What is their USNWR ranking?