Scientist, singer new UAlbany president

ALBANY — The new president of the University at Albany is a crop scientist who sings tenor in a Grammy-winning soul choir. And don't call him Bob.

Robert Jones, 61, was announced Wednesday as UAlbany's 19th president, capping a search that has proceeded in fits and starts since the unexpected death of former President Kermit Hall in 2006.

Jones has been a senior vice president at the University of Minnesota since 2004, and has spent more than three decades in teaching and administrative roles in the Gopher State's university system. He'll succeed George Philip, who has led UAlbany as either the interim or full president since 2007. Philip announced his retirement in November of last year.

"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.

He was not available for an interview Wednesday, and was not present when SUNY's board of trustees affirmed his appointment in New York City. Kate Tyler, a spokeswoman for Jones, said he spent the day in meetings at UMN's Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.

Jones' name was not among nine finalists for the job reported by the Times Union in June. It's unclear if he had been under consideration previously, or if he was a late find by the UAlbany search committee.

Philip was brought out of retirement to lead the 18,000-student school after an earlier search for a new leader failed to find a suitable candidate. He was named UAlbany's 18th president in June 2009 after serving as interim president since November 2007. The school has struggled to find a leader since Hall died of a heart attack while swimming at Hilton Head, S.C.

Jones has a broad portfolio in Minnesota, according to his official biography and interviews with people who know him. He was responsible for managing the university system's four satellite campuses as well as cooperative extensions — similar to entities in New York run by Cornell University — that focus on agricultural education.

Jones, a native of rural Georgia, said in a video interview that he was inspired to study agronomy — the science related to agricultural crops — by George Washington Carver, famous for his research in peanuts at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute.

Jones earned his undergraduate degree in Georgia and was awarded a Ph.D. in plant genetics from the University of Missouri. His research "focuses on the role of cytokinins in stabilizing grain yields of maize against environmental stresses and global climate change," according to an official biography. He is a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America.

UAlbany does not have an agronomy program.

Russell Luepker, vice chairman of the UMN Faculty Senate, described Jones as "warm" and "a smart guy who's a thoughtful leader." In recent years, UMN has erected a series of buildings called the "medical discovery district," including a center for research in magnetic resonance imaging. A neuroscience building is planned; a cardiovascular center is under construction, and the university just broke ground on a new physics building that will include nanotechnology research labs.

UAlbany's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering has bloomed in the past five years, and while it is under the university's umbrella, its leader Alain Kaloyeros reports directly to SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher.

Citing budget cuts, the university has phased out its French, Italian, Russian, classics and theater majors. The cuts took effect the same time tuition rates were increased for students across the 64-campus system.

"After years of budget cuts and program deactivations that have crippled the university, students, faculty and staff desperately need a president who lobbies for their best interests," said Save Our SUNY, a student group, in a statement that also asked Jones to freeze tuition and reinstate cut programs.

Luepker said Jones experienced similar pressures at UMN.

"We are faced with the same struggles of declining state budgets," he said. "We're more engaged with fundraising. We're more engaged with private businesses ... and, quite frankly, we've become more efficient."

Jones' salary will leap nearly 80 percent when he takes office Jan. 2. Tyler said his 2011 base salary at UMN was $310,105, but SUNY officials said he would be paid $555,000 in his new post — a $385,000 salary, a $60,000 housing allowance and a $110,000 annual payment from the SUNY Research Foundation.

Jones is a married to Dr. Lynn Hassan Jones, and the couple has five children and two grandchildren. According to his official biography, he is an active member of Sounds of Blackness, an internationally recognized choral group that sings gospel, soul and R&B.

jvielkind@timesunion.com • 518-454-5081 • @JimmyVielkind