James F. Jones (educator)

James F. Jones Jr. (born April 9, 1947) is an American liberal arts educator. His posts have included being president of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and president of Kalamazoo College, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

He served as interim president of Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia beginning in August 2014. Following a legal battle over the attempted closure of Sweet Briar, in an agreement to keep the college open released by the Virginia Attorney General's office on June 20, 2015, Jones was ordered to resign as Sweet Briar College president in one week, and he stepped down on July 2, 2015.^[1]

Education

While at University of Virginia he was assistant director of the Virginia Glee Club.^[2]

Career

Career at Trinity College and Sweet Briar College

Jones assumed the role of president of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut on July 1, 2004.

Jones's most prominent fundraising effort failed to reach its target despite having raised $281 million in gifts and pledges—more than twice the total of any previous capital campaign at the college.^[3] A parallel Legacy Campaign raised nearly $88 million towards a $75 million goal.^[3] However these successes were overshadowed by Jones's attempt to effectively shut down 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.^[4]

Jones's position at Trinity College ultimately became untenable due to multiple criticisms, and he was asked to retire early in 2013.^[5] He announced in May 2013 that he would be retiring early on June 30, 2014.^[6]

He served as interim president of Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia beginning in August 2014. Following a legal battle over the attempted closure of Sweet Briar, in an agreement to keep the college open released by the Virginia Attorney General's office on June 20, 2015, Jones was ordered to resign as Sweet Briar College president in one week, and he stepped down on July 2, 2015.^[1]

Criticism

Trinity College

Misuse of the Shelby Cullom Davis Endowment at Trinity College

In 2009, Jones faced criticism for allegedly raiding Trinity's Shelby Cullom Davis endowment and using the funds in contravention of the wishes of the original donor.^[7] Professor Gerald Gunderson, the Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of American Business and Economic Enterprise at Trinity College filed a complaint with the Connecticut Attorney General's office and a review revealed that Jones had for some years been drawing on the Davis endowment without approval. Jones only agreed to adhere to wishes of the original donor in late 2013, when Prof. Gunderson 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 Giving^[8] and in "Games Universities Play: And How Donors Can Avoid Them".^[9] 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."^[8]

Fall in Trinity College's rankings

In 2003, prior to Jones's arrival at Trinity College, it was among the top 25 Best Liberal Arts Colleges, and 9th among the nation’s most selective Liberal Arts Colleges according to U.S. News & World Report.^[10] After Jones was appointed as Trinity's 21st president on July 21, 2004, Trinity College:

• fell to 45th according to U.S. News (2015)^[11]
• fell to 78th according to Forbes (2013)^[12]
• fell to 196th according to Washington Monthly (2013)^[13]

As Trinity's rankings began to plummet, Jones persuaded the Trinity community to join the Annapolis Group, a group which includes colleges such as Kalamazoo College, which refuses to participate or provide information to U.S. News & World Report or other college ranking organizations.^[14]

Social policy at Trinity College

Jones proposed a social policy for Trinity College which made a commitment, among other things, to require all sororities and fraternities to achieve gender parity within 2 years (ie for each sorority and fraternity to have an equal number of male and female members) or face closure. In a subsequent vote by Trinity's student government association, 82% of students voted against Jones's social policy.^[15] Jones's policies were also deeply unpopular with alumni, as evidenced by a 40% fall in the numbers of donations to Trinity College from 2011^[16] to 2013,^[17] with not one single class of alumni meeting its goal for annual participation, an accomplishment which had been commonplace in every year prior to 2013.^[18] In his defense, President Jones pointed out in his final interview with Trinity's school newspaper, that at colleges that close fraternities, “non-Greek males and females make up the amount of donations lost to Greek males” within three to four years and that “year to date the College is doing very well.”^[19] However, at the July end of Fiscal year 2014, when Jones was finally replaced, the number of donors continued to fall further from 2013 levels,^[17] with a fall of almost 25% in donations from parents and a further decline in the percentage of alumni giving to only 6,942 gifts, versus a high of nearly 13,000 annual donors just three years earlier.

Jones' requirement that all sororities and fraternities become coed was cancelled by Trinity College's new president, Joanne Berger-Sweeney, less than a year after his retirement.^[20]

Sweet Briar College

Attempted closure of Sweet Briar College

On March 3, 2015, Jones, acting as the interim president of Sweet Briar College, surprised students, faculty and alumnae by announcing that the 114-year-old institution would close permanently in August 2015.^[21] Jones 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."^[22][23]

Following the closure announcement, Sweet Briar College's enrollment fell by a half due to student transfers.^[24]

Critics of the announcement questioned Jones' claim that the college needed "$250M into the endowment by tomorrow morning."^[25][26] pointing to a (then) current a $94 million endowment as of 2013, similar to that of the University of Maryland, a school with over 37,000 students, in comparison to Sweet Briar's student population of 739.^[27][28] On March 30, 2015, the Amherst County attorney filed a lawsuit against Jones,^[29] alleging that the administration had been diverting and misusing funds donated for the operation of the college, to close the college.

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.^[30][31]

Mediation arranged with assistance of Virginia's attorney general resulted in Jones' resignation.^[24][32]

In 2016 Sweet Briar College had its highest number of applicants in 50 years.^[33]

References