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URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — Robert Jones, the current Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has announced that he is stepping down from the position.
In a Massmail to students, faculty and staff, Jones said he will be leaving the university at the end of this academic year in June of 2025. It will be the end of his ninth year as Chancellor and his tenure will be the second-longest of any Chancellor since the position was created in the late 1960s.
Jones said he truly loves the job and the university community, and that stepping down is “the most difficult decision that I have had to make across my nearly 47 years in higher education.” But he said that he believes this is the right time to begin the transition to find the next chancellor.
“I am so very grateful to all of you over the past eight years who have shown me patience, enlightened me, extended me grace and helped me truly understand what it means to be a member of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign family,” Jones said. “Thank you for letting me be a part of your Illinois experience. That is a very special and treasured gift.
This is a developing story.