Stan Jones

President

Following three decades successfully reforming higher education in Indiana as Commissioner of Higher Education, state legislator, and senior advisor to the governor, Stan Jones founded Complete College America in order to build a network of states committed to substantially increasing the number of Americans with a postsecondary credential.

Mr. Jones began his longstanding commitment to education in 1974, when, at the age of 24, he was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives. As a member of both the House Education and State Budget committees, he developed expertise in higher education and higher-education finance. Stan served 16 years in the Indiana State Legislature and more than five years as a senior advisor to Governor Evan Bayh. His service as Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education spanned 12 years and the tenure of four different governors from both political parties.

As Commissioner, he was credited as a primary architect of several landmark education policy initiatives in Indiana.  These initiatives include the 21st Century Scholars program, an early promise scholarship program aimed at increasing the number of low-income students attending and completing a postsecondary education; the development of Indiana’s new community college system; the creation of Indiana’s Education Roundtable; and the implementation of Core 40, a college prep curriculum that has contributed to a significant increase in high school seniors going to college.