PREFERRED ADDRESS: Oberlin College Daub House 145 W. Lorain St. Oberlin, OH 44074 Office Phone:  440-775-8624 EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Oberlin College, English and Environmental Studies '96 APPOINTMENTS WITH OBERLIN COLLEGE: Vice President for Communications, 2008

A national expert on blogging, social networking, and Web 2.0 in higher education, Ben Jones ‘96, became Oberlin College's vice president for communications in July 2008.

From 2004 to 2008, Jones served as director of communications for the office of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he developed a communications plan and admissions web community that was cited as the gold standard in admissions communications. During his tenure, MIT's applications increased 28 percent.

Jones previously was a founder and partner of Blue Coda Inc., a web design firm with clients such as Harvard and MIT. He served as a director of design and production for About.com , the fifth largest web site in the world at the time.

He also directed the online version of American Prospect (the liberal politics magazine founded by Oberlin alumnus Robert Kuttner) and helped to develop an online community known as the Electronic Policy Network.

At Oberlin, Jones was a double major in English and environmental studies, vice president of his senior class, a senior intern in the admissions office, head manager of the Cat in the Cream coffeehouse, and an a capella singer.

He is also an active musician with multiple songwriting awards to his credit. He and his wife, a graduate of the Oberlin Class of 1997, have two sons.