SUNY Board Confirms Dr. Linda E. Jones' Appointment as Unit Head/Associate Vice President for Statutory Affairs at the SUNY College of Ceramics at Alf

Albany – The State University of New York Board of Trustees today confirmed the appointment of Dr. Linda E. Jones as Unit Head / Associate Vice President for Statutory Affairs at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

 

The appointment of the associate vice president for statutory affairs is made by the president of Alfred University, subject to confirmation by the SUNY Board. 

 

Dr. Jones’ appointment is effective July 1, 2010.

 

In this capacity, Dr. Jones serves as the SUNY representative at, and the chief administrative officer of the College. Dr. Jones will succeed Dr. William LaCourse, who has held this position in an interim capacity since March 2006.

 

”With her stellar academic background in materials science and her past faculty and leadership roles at the College of Ceramics, Dr. Jones has precisely the qualifications we were seeking for this important post,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “I commend President Edmondson and the Board for seeing this appointment through and enthusiastically welcome Dr. Jones back to SUNY.”

 

“Dr. Jones’ knowledge of and previous experience at the state College of Ceramics and Alfred University will serve us well,” Board Chairman Carl T. Hayden. “Her success and accomplishments at Smith College in managing the only accredited engineering program for women in the country are most impressive. President Edmondson and the search committee are to be commended for attracting Dr. Jones back to SUNY and the College of Ceramics.”

 

“All of us are delighted to be able to bring Dr. Jones back to Alfred University,” said Alfred University President Charles M. Edmondson. “I am confident in her ability to lead the New York State College of Ceramics to even greater national recognition in a partnership between Alfred University and SUNY. Certainly, her knowledge of Alfred University and SUNY, coupled with the excellent administrative experience she gained in leading the Smith program to national prominence in just six years’ time, bode well for the future of the College of Ceramics.”

 

Dr. Jones said, “I am grateful to have the opportunity to return to the College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where I spent 14 years working with many of the same administrators and faculty that are there today, individuals for whom I have great respect and admiration. I am especially pleased to be returning to the SUNY system now, while the new strategic plan is about to be implemented.”   

 

“This is indeed a very exciting time for SUNY and I am looking forward to being a part of it. I thank Chancellor Zimpher, President Edmondson and members of the Board for granting me this opportunity.”

 

A search committee, chaired by President Charles Edmondson of Alfred University, and comprised of representatives of Alfred University, SUNY, the Governor’s Office, and the community, conducted a national search that attracted strong candidates.  Dr. Jones was the unanimous choice of the search committee.

 

About Dr. Linda E. Jones

Since 2005, Dr. Jones has been serving as the Hewlett Professor and Chair of Engineering, and Director of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College.  The Picker Engineering Program, begun in 1999, emphasizes rigorous coursework across engineering subjects in a liberal arts context.  Dr. Jones’ role as director of the Picker Engineering Program is to oversee and manage the sustainable growth of the nation’s first and only accredited engineering program at a women’s college.  During her tenure as Director, Smith College completed the construction of a new 140,000 square foot building for Engineering and Molecular Sciences.  Dr. Jones was involved in the fundraising for the building and the engineering equipment, as well as development of the building design.  In addition to bringing an unranked program to a national ranking of 17^th as reported by “U.S. News and World Report,” she oversaw the establishment of a new engineering degree – B.A. in Engineering Arts.  In her position as chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Program, Dr. Jones coordinated the program’s accreditation, a process that the Picker Engineering Program also underwent.  

 

Prior to Smith College, from 1991 - 2005, Dr. Jones served as a faculty member at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University where she rose from Assistant Professor in Ceramic Engineering and Materials Science to Professor and Chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Program.  While at the College of Ceramics, Dr. Jones served as president of Alfred University’s Faculty Senate and a member of the University’s Strategic Planning Council.

 

Dr. Jones has received numerous teaching honors and awards including the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (1999); and the SUNY Research Foundation McMahon Teaching Award (1998, 2001, 2003) at the College of Ceramics for excellence in research and scholarship.

           

Dr. Jones earned her B.S. degree in Chemistry from Mary Washington College and received her M.S. and Ph.D degrees in Fuel Science, Material Science and Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

 

Dr. Jones has numerous publications and has given over 100 national and international presentations.  She is involved with many professional affiliations.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Ceramic Society, and the Picker Institute at Colgate University as well as on the Executive Committee of the American Carbon Society.    She is a member of the Chaired Professorship Committee at Smith College, and the Deans Advisory Board at Cal Poly – San Louis Obispo.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 465,000 students in 7,351 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu 

 

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Dr. Jones will receive an annual State salary of $190,000, of which $150,000 will come from the State University, and $40,000 from the annual allocation made directly to the College of Ceramics by the New York State Legislature.