Leading Scholar and Business Leader Named Dean of Walton College

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Eli Jones, named to be new dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Eli Jones will become the dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, effective July 1.

“I am pleased that Dean Jones will lead Walton College at this critical time,” said Sharon L. Gaber, the university’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “We were looking for an established and effective leader to further advance Walton College’s national and global stature among the world’s leading business colleges. Dean Jones possesses the experience, business reputation and connections, and energy to continue Walton College’s extraordinary progress in the years to come.”

Gaber’s point was reinforced by University of Arkansas Chancellor G. David Gearhart.

“Eli Jones brings a wonderful mix of business acumen, professional savvy and academic experience,” Gearhart said. “He will provide a strong, innovative and knowledgeable presence for Walton College and its exceptional students, faculty and staff.”

“I am very pleased to assume the leadership of the Sam M. Walton College of Business,” Jones said. “I look forward to working with faculty, students and staff — as well as the vibrant corporate community in Northwest Arkansas and throughout Arkansas — to continue the college's legacy of excellence and achievement in research, teaching and service. This college is well poised to move ahead further in national and international recognition.”

Jones will hold the Sam M. Walton Leadership Chair in Business in addition to his position as dean. Prior to Arkansas, Jones served in a similar role at Louisiana State University, serving as E.J. Ourso Distinguished Professor of Business as well as Ourso College’s dean. Before coming to LSU he served as associate dean for executive education; executive director of the program for excellence in selling; the founding director of the Sales Excellence Institute and  professor at the University of Houston. He holds a doctoral degree in marketing, a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in journalism all from Texas A&M University.

Jones is the author or co-author of four books and nearly 50 academic papers. He has served on LSU’s Student Retention Committee, co-chairs LSU’s Online/Distance Learning Task Force, and serves on Insperity’s Board of Directors, the Mary Bird Perkins Board of Directors and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber Board of Directors. He serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management.

Prior to Jones’ academic career, he served in leadership positions for Frito-Lay, Nabisco Foods and Quaker Oats.

The Walton College is ranked in the top 30 among public undergraduate business schools in the nation, according to the U.S. News and World Report 2012 “America’s Best Colleges.” Both the Walton College’s full-time and part-time, or managerial, Master of Business Administration programs are ranked among the top 25 public graduate business schools.

In his new role, Jones will receive an annual salary of $375,000. The salary recognizes Jones’ prominence as a scholar and business administrator and the significance of Walton College as an internationally renowned and engaged business college, Gaber explained.

Jones, 50, will be joined in Fayetteville by his wife, Fern Jones. He has four children and seven grandchildren.