Robert Jones
Senior Vice President for System Academic Administration
Contact: 612-624-3533, or jones012@umn.edu
Robert Jones is senior vice president for System Academic Administration for the University of Minnesota, a position he has held since 2004. He serves as a senior academic and chief operating officer for the University of Minnesota system. His leadership responsibilities include oversight for the coordinate campuses, international programs, public engagement and outreach, diversity and multicultural affairs, preK-12 and other youth and family programs, urban initiatives, planning and institutional research, state legislative relations, information technology, human resources, University of Minnesota Extension, and other University statewide initiatives. Prior to his current appointment, he served in various administrative positions at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, for more than 15 years, including vice president and executive vice provost for faculty and academic programs, vice president for campus life, vice provost for faculty and academic personnel, and interim vice president for student development.
Dr. Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Fort Valley State College, a master’s degree in crop physiology from the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in crop physiology from the University of Missouri. After earning the 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 stabilizing grain yields of maize against environmental stresses and global climate change. He 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 1984-1994 served as an academic and scientific consultant for Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s South African Education Program.