Howard Robert Jones was born March 17, 1911. He received his B.S. and M.A. degrees in educational administration from the University of Minnesota in 1933 and 1936, respectively. Jones was a teacher and guidance counselor at Sheridan Elementary and Junior High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1934 to 1938. He took his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1940. From 1940 to 1943, Dr. Jones was associate professor of education and assistant to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of New Hampshire. He was superintendent of schools in New Canaan, Connecticut, from 1943 to 1946; president of Plymouth Teachers College (later Plymouth State College) from 1946 to 1951; and professor of school administration at the University of Michigan from 1951 to 1962. In September 1962 he was named dean of the College of Education at the State University of Iowa, a position he held until his retirement in 1979.

A highlight of his career as dean was in 1977 when state officials approved plans for the Lindquist Center, the College of Education's new home. During his term as dean, the number of faculty increased from 61 to 125. Jones was a U.S. representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seminar at Lake Success, New York, in July 1946. His research and published articles concerned educational administration and teacher education. His honors included being listed in Who's Who in the Midwest and receiving the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of New Hampshire in 1971. The Student/faculty lounge within the Lindquist Center was named for Dr. Jones in September 1980, at the Lindquist dedication ceremony. In addition,the University of Iowa Foundation established the Howard Jones Achievement Award in his honor, which was first presented at the dedication ceremony. Jones retired in 1979. Howard Jones married Helen Cook in December 1934 and they had a son and two daughters. When the couple moved to Iowa City in 1962, Helen became a librarian at Horace Mann Elementary School. She retired in 1977 and died in 1981. Jones married Shirley Hambrick in 1982. Howard R. Jones died May 20, 1986.