New UW President named

Robert J. Jones, 34th President
University of Washington

A warm welcome to the 34th President of the University of Washington, Robert J. Jones, who took office Friday, August 1, 2025.

He is married to physician Dr. Lynn Hassan Jones, a diagnostic radiologist and they have five children.

Prior to leading the UW, Jones served as chancellor of Illinois’ flagship university, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and prior to that as president of the State of New York University at Albany (SUNY Albany). 

He is a distinguished scholar whose research focuses on crop physiology, and he has served in leadership roles in national academic organizations and the Big Ten Conference.

Jones served for nine years as the 10th chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the state’s largest and flagship land-grant university. 

He was previously chair of the board of directors for the Association of American Universities (AAU), board chair of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors.

At Illinois, Jones led the university in establishing a bold new vision of the land-grant university for the 21st century and beyond, while honoring the institution’s long history of achievement. 

Under his leadership, the university completed a $2.7 billion philanthropic campaign, the largest in its history. 

Jones also oversaw the launch of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the first accredited engineering-based medical school in the world. 

During his nine years as chancellor, he grew the university’s enrollment by 25%. 

He also significantly expanded the Illinois Commitment, a program that guarantees four years’ free tuition to state residents with family incomes less than $75,000, making the university’s founding promise of an accessible and affordable world-class college education the centerpiece of his administration.

More information here about Robert J. Jones