Story: Betsy Compton | Photo: Jordan Jones
When fall classes begin at the University of West Alabama in August, it will mark the beginning of the 38th year on campus for Provost Dr. Tina N. Jones, but her last at the helm of academics for the 190-year-old institution. Jones will retire September 30 following a career that spans decades in the classroom and University outreach, shaping academic and career paths for her students and empowering growth for the State of Alabama.
Jones has served as provost since July 2023 and was assistant provost for a year prior. She joined the faculty as a graduate teaching assistant in 1992, becoming a tenure-track instructor in 1993 and rising to the rank of professor in 2006, teaching English and journalism.
“Our University stands as testament to a belief in people and the positive difference we can have on the future with our presence,” Jones said. “I am thankful for the students who have allowed me to be a companion with them, at least for a little while, on their life journeys. It has been my honor to be a curious traveler who has been repaid many times with the beauty of the land, the generosity of the people and the authenticity and love of place that I discovered again and again.”
Jones, a native of McCalla, Alabama, and McAdory High School graduate, combined her academic interests with a deep appreciation for the people and history of the Black Belt region that would ultimately become the roadmap for her career—journey, as she prefers to call it—which she considers to have been filled with a greater sense of purpose because of the sense of place and people of the region that UWA serves.
“I can honestly say Alabama’s Black Belt took hold of me when I stepped on campus as a student in 1987, and that over my career, I have been blessed that my job has afforded me the opportunity to be part of a long-standing legacy of an institution that looks to the past for inspiration while acknowledging a continual need to look forward and meet the demands of both this generation and the next generation of students,” Jones said.
Upon the announcement of Jones’s retirement, UWA President Dr. Todd G. Fritch said that Jones will still act as a liaison for several organizations and agencies with which the University has collaborated with to support and promote the region’s viability and livability.
“We are deeply appreciative of the commitment, professionalism, leadership, and compassion that Dr. Jones has shown to the University of West Alabama during her outstanding tenure,” Fritch said. “Dr. Jones has agreed to continue working alongside me in support of special projects following her retirement, serving as an ambassador for UWA among some of our statewide and regional partnerships,” he explained.
WAYMAKER
Jones holds the distinction of being the first woman to serve as a vice president at UWA and the first woman to serve as the institution’s provost, little known because she generally pushes another to the spotlight. She is the first alumnus to serve as the institution’s provost.
In an interview for a 2024 production commemorating women’s history month, she reflected on the University’s first president, Julia Tutwiler.
“It strikes me sometimes when I read what other people say about her,” Jones said, “the letters between students who are commenting on the role that she played in their life. Sometimes you don’t realize the impact you’re having on somebody’s life until many years later. At all times, we are having an impact on people’s lives.”
Valuing intentionality, Jones, ever the journalism professor, says she likes to live by the question, “Would I like to see that in a headline about me?” That sentiment, she says, serves as a reminder that if she would not be comfortable seeing her words or action in a headline, she should not say or do such. Along with this, she says she’s learned that leadership requires a willingness to be open to challenges and opportunities, and perhaps more importantly, an ability to listen—a “best tool” she attributes to her mother and grandmother.
“My grandmother always listened to those around her. I also watched my mom and always felt like she was an extremely diplomatic person, a listener. She could always smooth things over not because of anything she did but because people felt like they were being heard. I hope that’s a trait I have,” she said with a reflective smile.
Honors across the board at the University suggest that her students and colleagues value her character. She is a recipient of the two top awards selected by the student body and by colleagues, the William E. Gilbert Award for Outstanding Teaching and the McIlwain Bell Trustee Professor Award, respectively. She is a recipient of the College of Liberal Arts Alumni Achievement Award and is a member of the Society of the Golden Key, the highest distinction awarded to a University alumnus.
ACADEMICS & OUTREACH ALIGN
In 2005, Jones was tapped to spearhead the fledgling initiative that would serve as a hub of education, development, partnerships, and promotion of Alabama’s Black Belt, UWA being uniquely positioned in the region to lead this effort. Splitting time between the classroom and outreach, she was named executive director of the Center for the Study of the Black Belt, which became a springboard for the University’s outreach initiatives and the establishment of the Division of Educational Outreach, evolving into the Division of Economic and Workforce Development, of which she served as vice president for four years and has continued to oversee while serving as provost.
She served as advisor to the student newspaper staff from 1997 until 2008 and as co-director of Livingston Press from 1998 to 2006. She served as chair of the 175th Anniversary Committee, leading the year-long celebration in 2010, served as faculty chair of the University’s first capital campaign, and has served as chair of commencement since 2002. She is a founder of the Sucarnochee Folklife Festival and has served as chair of its planning committee since 2004. She has served in a leadership capacity for the University’s accreditation reaffirmation team since 2010.
Far beyond the classroom where her journey began teaching speech and composition, then journalism, communications, and the classics of American literature, Jones has played integral leadership roles in regional and statewide initiatives that align with UWA’s mission to enrich lives through education, service and outreach.
Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism and a master of arts in teaching from Livingston University (now UWA) and a doctorate in American literature from the University of Southern Mississippi. In fact, you might say this educational background laid the path for a career that has helped the University provide access and exposure to a broader audience while celebrating this region’s unique history, opportunities, and people.
Among her many accolades and honors for service and leadership is the John C. & Agatha Bell Community Service Award, which honors recognition and promotion of cultural diversity in the field of music. Much of Jones’s early academic research focused on the folkways of Sumter County, including several individuals who are now considered prominent historic figures because of her research and publications. From Maria Fearing and Ruby Pickens Tartt to the preserved recordings of some of Alabama’s oldest blues music and preservation of historic structures and places, Jones has pieced together through scholarly research a patchwork that solidifies places Sumter County’s rich history on a larger stage.
Her academic research of Alabama’s 19-county Black Belt region’s traditions, customs, beliefs, and folklife as unique resources laid the groundwork for the development of inventories and frameworks that earned the designation of Alabama’s Black Belt as a National Heritage Area, thus opening the door for federal support to shape and secure a more prosperous future for the region.
In 2024, the Alabama Governor’s Conference on Tourism honored Jones with the Tourism Partnership of the Year Award for her leadership of several key partnerships that have led to increased tax revenues generated from heritage tourism, enhancement of quality of life, job creation, and overall sense of pride. She is also a governor-appointed member of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, chair of Main Street Alabama, and serves on several other state-wide boards.
“None of us can accomplish anything by ourselves. We have to be able to recognize all the things other people sacrificed or did to help you achieve those things. I have a lot of titles and wear a lot of hats, but my roles and my job don’t define me. The way I act defines me. That’s what people remember, not a job title.”
As her nearly four-decade tenure at UWA draws narrow, her work leaves a foundation for continued partnerships and emphasis on the unique attributes of the region she has come to call home. But she is hesitant to refer to a legacy.
“I have always felt that legacy is something that others define for you,” Jones said. “My legacy will change as times and priorities change, but what I hope will not change is the understanding of my dedication to this place—both the institution and the larger region we call Alabama’s Black Belt.”
About the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs
The University Provost presides over faculty across all colleges and divisions as well as all units under the umbrella of the Office of Academic Affairs. In an announcement to faculty and staff regarding Jones’s forthcoming retirement, Fritch said that the University will conduct a national search through an external firm to identify UWA’s next provost. Through the completion of the search, Dr. Amy H. Jones, currently serving as dean of the College of Liberal Arts, will serve as interim provost, effective October 1, and steps have begun to identify an interim COLA dean while she serves as interim provost.