PhD, 2019 Anthony Jones is the executive director of financial aid and scholarships at the University of Utah. He administers $360 million in financial aid funding and oversees the university’s disbursement of more than $9 million in CARES Act funding grants to students. Dr. Jones had served director of student financial aid at the University of Georgia and in a similar capacity at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Jones was the deputy director & director of policy research for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance in Washington, D.C. During 2012-13 he directed the Advisory Committee's seminar series highlighting the latest research on access, persistence, and completion. Each of the nine seminars was led by prominent researchers on their respective campuses or in the Washington, D.C. area. Jones also contributed to and co-edited, along with Dr. Laura Perna, a book that expanded upon the proceedings of the seminar series. The book, The State of College Access and Completion: Improving College Success for Students from Underrepresented Groups was published in June 2013. At the 2013 Student Financial Aid Research Network conference, Jones presented a paper (in collaboration with Andrew Belasco of IHE and Elizabeth Kurban of the Advisory Committee) analyzing the use of input-adjusted measures, such as six-year graduation rates, to assess institutional performance and distribute need-based grant aid. Jones has more than 20 years of experience in postsecondary education, primarily focused on student financial aid. He previously worked in the financial aid offices for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and for the U.S. Department of Education. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid.
