Veteran higher education scholar Dr. Glen Jones leaves lasting mark on OISE and University Governance

For more than three decades, Professor Glen A. Jones (MEd '88, PhD '91) has quietly helped shape how universities understand themselves. 

From his early days as a student leader to his tenure as Dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Dr. Jones has become one of Canada’s most influential voices in higher education policy and governance.

Now serving as the Ontario Research Chair in Postsecondary Education Policy and Measurement at the University of Toronto and Director of the Centre for the Study of Canadian and International Higher Education, Jones has built a career examining the inner workings of universities—an interest that began during his undergraduate years at the University of Manitoba. There, as a student representative on the Board of Governors, he first encountered what he has described as the “uniquely complex” machinery of academic institutions.

That early exposure set the course for a career closely intertwined with OISE. After completing his MEd and PhD at the Institute, Jones began his career at Brock University, but he returned to OISE as a faculty member in 1995 and went on to play a central role in shaping its academic direction for decades. Colleagues often point to his deep institutional knowledge and steady leadership style as defining features of his tenure.

As Interim Dean in 2015 and Dean from 2016 to 2021, Jones oversaw a period of significant transformation. Working closely with the academic departments, OISE developed a new budget model and its financial situation improved. Under his leadership, OISE became Canada’s only all-graduate faculty of education, a move that sharpened its research focus and strengthened its international profile. He also supported the expansion and global visibility of the Master of Teaching program, while advancing initiatives tied to Indigenization, equity, social justice and sustainability.

Beyond administration, Jones has maintained a prolific research agenda. He is widely recognized for his work on university governance, particularly the Canadian “bicameral” model that balances authority between governing boards and academic senates, and higher education policy. His research has also tracked broader shifts in academic work, including the increasing fragmentation of faculty roles, through his involvement in a series of international studies, including the Academic Profession in the Knowledge-based Society (APIKS) project.

His influence extends internationally. Jones has advised organizations such as UNESCO and the World Bank and has held leadership roles including president of the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. At OISE, he has also been known as a mentor to emerging scholars, supervising over 40 doctoral graduates and contributing to the Institute’s reputation as a global hub for higher education research. 

Recognition for his contributions has followed. Among his honours are the University of Toronto’s Vivek Goel Faculty Citizenship Award, numerous Canadian and international awards for research, and an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Manitoba.

With 20 books and more than 150 academic publications, the prolific alum continues to shape conversations about how universities function—and how they might evolve. Even after stepping down as dean, his connection to OISE remains central, reflecting a career defined not only by scholarship, but by sustained institutional impact.

Learn more about Dr. Jones, and higher education in Canada, on his OISE website: www.oise.utoronto.ca/hec