COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER & HONORARY DOCTORAL DEGREE PAUL ANTHONY JONES

received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

In addition to his degrees from USU, Jones also earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in education and human resource studies from Colorado State University. He has spent 37 years in higher education, and he became the leader of Fort Valley State University in 2015. In the past several years, he has advanced the university’s standing as one of the nation’s most respected institutions of higher learning, including its consistent ranking as the top public historically Black college and university (HBCU) in Georgia by U.S. News and World Report.

Last fall, Jones joined USU President Noelle E. Cockett in signing a five-year partnership between the two land-grant universities that will allow them to collaborate on research, educational program development, student support and involvement, and other areas of mutual interest.

Paul Anthony Jones is the 10th president of Georgia’s Fort Valley State University. He is known as a visionary leader and strategic thinker who has long championed the transformative power of education.

Jones attended Utah State University in the 1980s to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was a two-sport studentathlete, competing in football and track and field. As the head of USU’s Black Student Union, he developed programs that helped to build community and support for and among Black students, as well as improve the university and local community.

Drawing on his own experiences as a student, Jones served as a university recruiter, establishing himself as a leader on campus not only in recruiting diverse students, but also in creating welcoming spaces. With his enthusiasm for the Aggie Family as well as his dedication to USU’s values and mission, he encouraged all faculty to mentor USU’s diverse student population.

Jones met and married his wife, Sylvia, when they were students in Logan. Together in 1991, they established the AfricanAmerican Leadership Award Scholarship in the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies at USU — an extraordinary gift to support students when they themselves were pursuing advanced degrees and raising a young family. The couple has continued that generosity and expanded their connections with USU over the years: they were honored as USU Alumni of the Year in 2012, and both of their children are also alumni. In 2021, Jones

Before joining FVSU, Jones served two years as interim president at Darton State College in Georgia. Throughout his career, he has held numerous leadership roles at Georgia College & State University, including senior vice president for finance and administration, vice president and chief of staff, vice president for institutional research and enrollment management, and several interim roles including vice president of academic affairs and president. He was also a professor of educational administration at Georgia College.

In 2007, he was named an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow at the University of West Florida, earning a place in the nation’s premier higher education leadership program.

Jones serves as a member of several boards, including the Medical Center of Peach County, Navicent Health Board of Directors, Fort Valley State University Foundation, Middle Georgia Goodwill Industries Education Committee, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Council of 1890s Officers, USDA-1890 Task Force, Museum of Aviation Foundation Board of Governors, and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Executive Board.

For his lasting legacy at USU, his exemplary record of philanthropy, and his outstanding leadership in the field of higher education, Utah State University is proud to bestow upon Paul Anthony Jones the honorary degree of Doctor of Education.