James F. Jones (educator)
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James F. Jones Jr. (born April 9, 1947) is an American academic administrator and educator. He began his career as a professor of
Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language fam ...
and other humanities. His administrative posts have included being vice provost of
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...
and dean of its
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences is the school of liberal arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth- ...
; president of
Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College, also known as Kalamazoo, K College, KC or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, Kalamazoo is the oldest private college in ...
; president of
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
in Hartford, Connecticut; and interim president of Sweet Briar College.


Early life and education

Jones was born in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
in 1947. He graduated from the
Georgia Military Academy Woodward Academy (also known as Woodward or WA) is an independent, co-educational college-preparatory school for pre-kindergarten to 12th grade on two campuses located in College Park and Johns Creek, Georgia, United States, within the Atlanta m ...
in 1965. He received degrees from the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
,
Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
, the
Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...
, and
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. While at the University of Virginia, he was assistant director of the
Virginia Glee Club The Virginia Glee Club is a men's chorus based at the University of Virginia. It performs both traditional and contemporary vocal works typically in TTBB arrangements. Founded in 1871, the Glee Club is the university's oldest musical organization ...
.


Career


Early career

Jones was professor and department chair of Romance languages and literature at
Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
in St. Louis, Missouri, and he was also director of the university's summer language institute in France. He later served as preceptor for the department of French and Romance Philology at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. In the early 1990s, he was vice provost of
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...
in Dallas, Texas and dean of its Dedman School of Humanities and Sciences, and he was also a professor of humanities there.


Kalamazoo College

Jones was president of
Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College, also known as Kalamazoo, K College, KC or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, Kalamazoo is the oldest private college in ...
in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1996 to 2004, and he taught humanities there as well. He nearly doubled the college's endowment, and supported study-abroad and internship programs.


Trinity College

Jones assumed the role of president of
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
in Hartford, Connecticut on July 1, 2004. In 2007 he signed the
Annapolis Group The Annapolis Group is an American organization of independent liberal arts colleges. It represents approximately 130 liberal arts colleges in the United States. These colleges work together to promote a greater understanding of the goals of a lib ...
Presidents Letter, refusing to participate in or provide information to ''U.S. News & World Report'' or other college ranking organizations. In 2009, Jones faced criticism for allegedly raiding Trinity's
Shelby Cullom Davis Shelby Cullom Davis (April 1, 1909 – May 26, 1994) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist from the state of New York. In 1947 he created Shelby Cullom Davis & Company, which became a leading investment firm. He later se ...
endowment and using funds in contravention of the wishes of the original donor. The college petitioned the Attorney General's office to broaden the use of funds from the Davis Endowment to include student scholarships in Economics. Professor Gerald Gunderson, the Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of American Business and Economic Enterprise at Trinity College filed a complaint with the
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
Attorney General's office and a review revealed that the college had for some years been drawing on the Davis endowment without approval. The college agreed to adhere to the original conditions of the endowment in late 2013, when Prof. Gunderson objected to excess funds being used for student scholarships and commenced litigation. Details of the situation are reviewed in "Another Cautionary Tale: The Shelby Cullom Davis Professorship of American Business and Economic Enterprise at Trinity College" in The Intelligent Donor's Guide to College GivingNeal, Anne D., and Michael B. Poliakoff
"The Intelligent Donor's Guide to College Giving (Second Edition)"
American Council of Trustees and Alumni The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is a conservative non-profit organization whose stated mission is to "support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure t ...
, March 2011.
and in "Games Universities Play: And How Donors Can Avoid Them".Wooster, Martin Morse
"Games Universities Play: And How Donors Can Avoid Them"
John Williams Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, September, 2011.
Commenting on the case, the donor's daughter, Diana Cullom Davis Spencer, noted: "If colleges like Trinity undermine donors' confidence that they will respect their wishes, they place at risk the generous support they receive from our foundation and so many others—and the benefits that inure to millions of students from this largesse." In the fall of 2012 he attempted to overhaul Trinity College's 160-year-old Greek system by, among other things, requiring all sororities and fraternities to become 50/50 male/female by 2016 or risk having their properties confiscated by the school and their members expelled. The plan received significant criticism; fraternity and sorority members said that going coed would effectively shut them down, some alumni threatened to withhold donations, and some alumni called for Jones' resignation. Following the controversy over the sorority and fraternity plans, in 2013 he was asked to retire a year early, and he stepped down on June 30, 2014.


Sweet Briar College

He served as interim president of Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia beginning in August 2014. On March 3, 2015, Jones surprised students, faculty and alumnae by announcing that the 114-year-old institution would close permanently in August 2015. He stated that the Board of Directors had come to two conclusions after deliberation: "The declining number of students choosing to attend small, rural, private liberal arts colleges and even fewer young women willing to consider a single-sex education," and "the increase in the tuition discount rate that we have to extend to enroll each new class is financially unsustainable." Critics of the announcement questioned Jones' claim that "to save Sweet Briar we would need $250 million into the permanent endowment tomorrow morning", pointing out that while the college had been running a deficit, it still had an endowment of $84 million and assets of $163.9 million, and that $250 million was the size of the endowment of the much larger
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
. On March 30, 2015, the Amherst County attorney filed a lawsuit against Jones, alleging that the administration had continued to collect charitable donations towards its educational mission as it prepared to close, in violation of the intentions of the donors, and that it had violated Virginia's Uniform Trust Code by acting against the will of its founding documents. A vote of no confidence in Jones and the board of directors was issued at a faculty meeting and on April 24, 2015, the faculty of Sweet Briar College filed a lawsuit seeking more than $40 million in damages. The faculty case asserted that the college was not in dire financial distress; and noted that net assets rose from $126 million to $135 million, the endowment grew from $85 million to $95 million, and debt dropped from $42 million to $25 million in the past five years. Following a legal battle over the attempted closure of Sweet Briar, a mediation agreement to keep the college open required Jones to resign as Sweet Briar College president seven business days after that agreement gained court approval, and he stepped down on July 2, 2015.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, James F. Presidents of Kalamazoo College Columbia University alumni University of Paris alumni Emory University alumni Southern Methodist University faculty Washington University in St. Louis faculty University of Virginia alumni Living people Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques 1947 births Woodward Academy alumni Presidents of Trinity College (Connecticut)