BINGHAMTON, NY – Incoming Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Nieman today announced that Wayne E. Jones, Jr., professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry, has accepted a one-year interim appointment as dean of Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University, effective July 1. A national search for a permanent dean will begin in late summer.

 “Wayne is a true collaborator with solid administrative experience as well as a commitment to both research and high-quality teaching,” said Nieman. “He has earned the respect of faculty, staff and senior administrators and I’m confident he will be highly effective in his role as interim dean.”

“I’m honored and excited to accept this opportunity to work with my colleagues in Harpur College, especially at such a critical time for the liberal arts and for the University’s development as its road map strategic planning initiative gets underway,” said Jones.

Jones, who joined the faculty at Binghamton in 1993, earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Michael’s College in Vermont, and his doctorate in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was a post doctoral fellow at the University of Texas, Austin, and a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000. 

Winner of a Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2001, Jones is founding director of the Center for Learning and Teaching, which provides resources to students and faculty to improve the teaching and learning process and hosts the Institute for Student-Centered Learning workshops each year. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Educational Technology Systems.

Jones also developed and leads the Go Green Institute, an annual summer program that brings about 50 of the Southern Tier’s brightest middle-schoolers to campus for an intensive 10-day, hands-on exploration of science with a focus on a sustainable living environment.

An inorganic chemist, Jones studies photo-induced electron and energy transfer processes in inorganic and polymer systems with specific research interests in polymer sensors, photovoltaics and electronic nanomaterials. He has authored more than 125 publications and articles, holds four patents and is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society. His work has been supported by nearly $6 million in federal research grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the New York State Center for Advanced Technology (IEEC), and industrial partners.

In addition to his administrative experience as a department chair, Jones served as deputy to the president from 2001 to 2006.