The University of Washington has named Robert J. Jones its 34^th president. Jones, who has spent the past nine years as chancellor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, replaces Ana Mari Cauce, who will have held the role for 10 years at the end of the academic year in June.

Jones, who also previously served as the president at the University at Albany in New York, becomes the first African American to serve as UW president. His official start date is Aug. 1.

“The UW is globally renowned as a home of outstanding teaching, research, innovation and patient care,” Jones said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the UW’s talented and dedicated faculty and staff to support and accelerate their work, and to partnering with the UW’s supporters to advance students’ success, economic opportunity, and discovery for the public good.”

During Jones’ tenure, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign opened the  Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the first engineering-based medical school in the world, in a partnership with Carle Health. He led the effort to partner with the University of Chicago on the Chicago Quantum Exchange initiative, which is establishing the state of Illinois as a center of quantum sciences and information. Another collaboration involving the University of Chicago and Northwestern University — the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago — seeks to gain a better understanding of human biology.

Jones and the university also launched a $2.25 billion philanthropic campaign that reached its goal 15 months early after raising $2.7 billion.

During her decade at UW, Cauce prioritized DEI initiatives, expanded research and innovation and advocated for increased financial aid. She also oversaw a UW campus expansion, including new buildings and medical research facilities.

Cauce appeared on the Seattle magazine podcast last year.