Roy Jumper was a founding faculty member and a leader of the O’Neill School. Hired in July of 1972 as an associate professor and director of professional development, he was promoted to associate dean and professor in 1974 and served in this capacity until 1986.
During the early years, he worked closely with IU President John W. Ryan and O'Neill Dean Charles Bonser to outline both the academic and programmatic vision for the newly established school. Most notably, Jumper played a key role in building the school’s external programs with federal, state, and local governments.
Jumper helped design and administer a number of successful efforts to provide training, technical assistance, and research consulting services to local governments across the state of Indiana and the Midwest. Jumper also played an important role in securing state funding for the first O’Neill building (the iconic stepped pyramid often associated with what was then SPEA) as well as establishing the Washington Leadership Program.
Before joining O’Neill, Jumper was a regional program director for the Ford Foundation in Beirut, Lebanon. This international experience was important in establishing O’Neill’s early international programs, including the Paris program and successful collaborations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Jumper left the school in 1986 when he was appointed provost of Indiana University’s Malaysia Cooperative Program for the Office of International Programs. In recognition of his years of dedicated service and significant contributions, Jumper was appointed Professor Emeritus of Public and Environmental Affairs in 1991.
Jumper received his Ph.D. in political science from Duke University in 1955 and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Paris in 1954.