Interim President Robert H. Jones, Ph.D.
Biography
Robert H. (Bob) Jones, Ph.D., is currently serving as Clemson University’s Interim President, building on a distinguished career of leadership and service in higher education. During his tenure as an academic administrator, Dr. Jones has guided higher education institutions through significant periods of innovation and transformation.
Following his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Dr. Jones held faculty and leadership positions at Auburn University and Virginia Tech, where he served as department head of the Department of Biological Sciences. He then served as Dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University for four years. In 2014, Dr. Jones returned to Clemson University to become Clemson’s first Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. In this role, he provided leadership and strategic vision for all academic and research units, including public service initiatives.
Beyond his professional achievements, Dr. Jones is deeply committed to community service and environmental conservation. He has volunteered with emergency foster care, chaired the Auburn Tree Commission, and served on the boards for a Virginia-based environmental education nonprofit and the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys hiking, birding, boating, and fishing, and has restored a native prairie—now protected by a conservation easement—on his Virginia family property.
A two-time Clemson graduate, Dr. Jones first earned his Bachelor of Science in forest management (1979) and Master of Science in Forestry (1981) before completing his doctorate in Forest Ecology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse University in 1986.
Clemson holds a special place in Dr. Jones’s heart, not only as the launchpad for his academic career but also as the place where he met his wife, Dr. Jeryl (Jeri) Jones. Jeri, is a member of Clemson’s Emeritus College, holds two doctoral degrees, and serves as a voice and leader in veterinary medicine with a specialty in veterinary radiology.
Education
- Ph.D., Forest Ecology
Syracuse University, The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1986 - M.S., Forestry
Clemson University, 1981 - B.S., Forest Management
Clemson University, 1979
Leadership Positions
- Auburn Tree Commission
Past Chair - Clemson University
Past Chief Academic Officer and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost - South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, Board of Directors
Past Chair - Virginia Tech
Department Head, Department of Biological Sciences - West Virginia University
Dean, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Positions
- Professor, School of Forestry, Auburn University
- Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech
- Professor, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University
