Frank S. Jones

In 1971, Frank Jones was named Ford Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning and became the first African American tenured professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He started his career as an Assistant Dean at HBS and next worked as a marketing executive for Scott Paper Company. When the president of MIT approached him, he accepted a position as assistant director of the Urban Systems Laboratory at MIT.

Jones was active in the business community, joining numerous boards including the Corporation at Draper Laboratory, CIGNA, and Connecticut General Insurance Corporation, where Jones became the first African American board member.