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 and other humanities. His administrative posts have included being vice provost of Southern Methodist University and dean of its Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences; president of Kalamazoo College; president of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut; and interim president of Sweet Briar College. Early life and education Jones was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1947. He graduated from the Georgia Military Academy in 1965. He received degrees from the University of Virginia, Emory University, the Sorbonne, and Columbia University. While at the University of Virginia, he was assistant director of the Virginia Glee Club. Career Early career Jones was professor and department chair of Romance languages and literature at Washington University 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. In the early 1990s, he was vice provost of Southern Methodist University 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 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 in Hartford, Connecticut on July 1, 2004. In 2007 he signed the Annapolis Group 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 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 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