Stanley Gordon "Stan" Jones (November 22, 1949 – February 6, 2017) was an American educator and politician. Born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Jones moved to

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister city, ...

in 1967. In 1974, Jones received his bachelor's degree from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. From 1975 to 1990, Jones served in the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...

and was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Then Stan served as senior advisor to Governor of Indiana

Evan Bayh Birch Evans Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997. Bayh w ...

, a post he would hold for more than five years, before being appointed as Indiana's 5th Higher Education Commissioner in 1995. During his more than 12-year tenure, he is credited as the primary architect of several landmark education policy initiatives, including the 21st Century Scholars program, an early promise scholarship aimed at increasing the number of low-income students attending and completing a postsecondary education. He was instrumental in the creation of the state's community college system (Ivy Tech); Indiana's Education Roundtable; the deployment of outcomes-based funding; and the implementation of Core 40, a college prep curriculum that has contributed to significant increases in high school seniors going to college. In 2009, Jones founded the national nonprofit Complete College America and was President for 8 years, getting 42 states on board. Jones died at his home in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

.Indiana Legislator Biographies-Stanley Gordon Jones
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References

1949 births 2017 deaths Politicians from Cincinnati People from West Lafayette, Indiana Purdue University alumni Educators from Indiana Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives Educators from Ohio {{Indiana-politician-stub