George Jones graduated from SUNY Cortland in 1956 with a degree in Education. While at Cortland, Jones was an active student. In 1955-1956 he was elected as the first African-American President of the House of Delegates (now referred to as SGA). He was also a member of the Board of Governors, Beta Phi Epsilon, the Senior Dance Club, the Cardinal Key Society, and the College Court. In addition, Jones was also on the baseball team, basketball squad, intramural volleyball team, and is a United States Military veteran. After graduating from Cortland, Jones went onto to earn a master's degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D in Medical Sociology from Colorado University.
Dr. Jones began his career working with disadvantaged youth at a Children's Home in his hometown of Yonkers. He then took a job in Colorado where he worked with the mentally disabled. In 1968 he was appointed to a committee on Mental Retardation by President Lyndon B. Johnson. From there Dr. Jones spent several years in Kenya where he received a fellowship from the Institute of Current World Affairs. He then spent 21-years with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) where he served 24 different African nations.
He was invited back to SUNY Cortland in 1998 where he delivered the commencement speech, then in 2004 when he was awarded with an honorary degree in Humane Letters.
