Meet Provost Jones

Clemson’s Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert H. Jones serves as chief academic officer, working closely with leadership to ensure that all academic activities supporting more than 30 units across nine colleges and the Libraries are in alignment with the Clemson Elevate strategic plan. Provost Jones’ leadership has guided Clemson through transitions to a place of recognition for our research pre-eminence threaded with excellence and dedication to deeply engaged teaching, service and research.

Provost Jones works closely with the President and Board of Trustees on major institutional priorities. He has responsibility for all facets of undergraduate and graduate education, academic support programs, outreach, and research at over 170 sites across the state, including Clemson, Greenville, Columbia, Greenwood and Charleston. 

With a dedication to purpose-driven service and a love of nature, Provost Jones is admired for his lasting impact on Clemson University and higher education.

Learn more about the timeline of Provost officers at Clemson University — explore the past Chief Academic Officers below.

A two-time Clemson graduate, Robert H. (Bob) Jones became Clemson University’s Chief Academic Officer and first Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost in September of 2014. But before that, Jones earned a Bachelor of Science in forest management in 1979 and a Master of Science in Forestry in 1981. He completed his doctorate in forest ecology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse University in 1986. And before returning to Clemson, Jones served as dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University and as department head and professor of biological sciences at Virginia Tech.

In addition to his passion for higher education, he is driven by a personal dedication to community service and a love of nature. He has served on the advisory board of an environmental education non-profit in Virginia, volunteered in a short-term emergency foster care system, and served as Chair of the Auburn Tree Commission. He has a passion for hiking, birding, boating, and fishing, and has restored a native prairie, now protected by a conservation easement, on his family property in Virginia.

Clemson is not only where Jones launched his career in academia but also where he met his wife, Dr. Jeryl Jones, a licensed veterinarian and board-certified specialist in veterinary radiology. She holds a position at Clemson as a professor of animal and veterinary sciences.