John Paul Jones III

John Paul “JP” Jones III is a human geographer with a long-held interest in social theory, the history of geographic thought, and geographic methodology. His earliest contributions were in uncovering the contingencies of socio-spatial processes through the contextualization of regression models under the banner of “spatially-varying parameters.” Most of his work since the 1990s has been informed by developments in critical social and cultural theory, especially poststructuralism. This research has examined issues of representation, identity, and spatial ontology and epistemology. He is perhaps best known for his contributions to debates on the concept of scale within human geography.

Some past NSF-funded collaborations include examinations of (a) the feminization of poverty in the US, (b) the globalization of the civil society sector in Oaxaca, Mexico, (c) the socio-spatial and political foundations of mosquito management in southern Arizona, and (d) the co-productions of scientists and artists in areas of climate change, geovisualization, and bioart.

Professionally, JP previously served as the Head of the then-Department of Geography and Regional Development at the University of Arizona (2003-2009) and later as the Don Bennett Moon Dean of UA’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (2010-2022). Afterwards, and prior to returning to his full-time faculty position in 2024, he was Interim Dean of and Special Advisor to UA’s International Office. Before arriving at UA in 2003, he taught at the University of Kentucky (1986-2003) and San Diego State University (1984-1986). He was a Fulbright Professor at University College Dublin and has held visiting appointments at the University of Nimegen in the Netherlands, the Universitat de Girona in Spain, and the London School of Economics. JP’s disciplinary service includes editorships of Geographical Analysis, Annals of the AAG, Dialogues in Human Geography and Wiley’s “Critical Introductions to Geography” textbook series. In 2015 he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Geographers.